


Portraiture

by MisguidedMind



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Artists, M/M, Omega Eren Yeager, Photography, Slow Build, Tall Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Theatre
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-05 07:39:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13383216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisguidedMind/pseuds/MisguidedMind
Summary: For their photography project, each student is assigned a partner from the theatre class that they're supposed to take multiple shots of. Levi had known that the theatre kids were a weird bunch, but he definitely hadn't been ready for Eren- and the weird behavior of the supposed alpha.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written an alpha/ beta/ omega au, so I thought it was time I did just that. 
> 
> Enjoy, hopefully. (:

"This year, we will focus mainly on portraiture. Of course, there's the whole theory part, but since we're off the opinion that it's important that you get to make use of your ever-growing knowledge in photography and actually do something with it, we've decided to make a bigger project out of this. The theatre class has agreed to support us and you'll each get a partner who's going to model for you. Which of course, is practice to them as well. In order to make this a bit more challenging, we've already decided who's going to work with each other on this, so you've got to figure out a topic that matches your model instead of doing it the other way around," the teacher informed the class, which in turn of course, broke out into not so silent chatter. 

Levi was maybe the only person in class who wasn't in the least bit excited to hear about those news. He'd known portraiture would be a subject they had to go through, but he'd personally never enjoyed taking photos of other people. People weren't his thing in general. Not only did it annoy him to work in a team, but he simply found it more appealing to take photos of landscapes instead; black and white photos were his favorite. In the best case, taken in a run-down neighborhood with some graffiti in the background; anything of that sort. 

He prayed internally that whoever he got paired up with would be capable enough to pose for some grungy, dramatic black-and-white shots in town. That couldn't be too hard, could it? Furthermore, he hoped that he wouldn't be paired up with another alpha; all too often those got on his nerves quite quickly. And that didn't always end well. 

Realistically, it was likely he'd be working with an alpha though, since the academy only allowed betas and alphas to take part in their courses, and especially the theatre guys were all too often alphas, their internal urge to be stared at and admired made sure of that. 

In that sense, Levi wasn't a typical alpha. He'd never been one to enjoy being in the spotlight. 

It didn't take long until a pencil was poking Levi in the back, and he turned around, looking annoyed and probably showing it in his scent, as well.

Hanji however wasn't affected. She'd learned to ignore her friend's moods and pheromones through the years. "I bet you're super excited at the prospect of teamwork," she whispered sarcastically and way too loudly, mimicking his sour expression in a ridiculous way.

"Fuck off," he answered, turning around to ignore her. The girl only smiled to herself, murmuring something that he didn't bother to catch. 

Facing the front of the class again, the dark haired alpha noticed that the theatre students were beginning enter the room, a crowd forming slowly as the teacher went on with her explanation.  
"I'll go through the names now so you can use the rest of the lesson trying to get to know each other and talk about what you want to get out of the project," she said and began to read the names out loud, two students standing up each time and wandering off to some corner so they could talk with their assigned partner.  
The raven wasn't so sure whether it was just him, or if the others found this whole 'being forced to work with one another' thing as weird as he did; why didn't they seem to have such a big problem being coupled with a stranger for the year as he did? 

Then again, he'd never been the most social creature. 

His thoughts were stopped abruptly when his name was called out, and he attempted not to let his annoyance show; it would do him no good to greet his project partner smelling like he was ready to pick a fight. He'd already been told quite often that he looked scary; he didnt need to reaffirm that impression.

So instead, he attempted to focus on the fact that today was Friday, which meant that the weekend was approaching finally. No classes, and all the time in the world to finally get some much needed rest- that was amazing. That thought kept him relatively content as he stood up and, with his eyes not focused on anything in particular, went to the front. Soon, this day would be over with, he reminded himself again on the way.

And then, all too suddenly, another boy stumbled right into him from the side, almost causing the both of them to fall to the ground from the impact. Somehow though, Levi managed to remain standing and the brunette instinctively grabbed a piece of his clothing to steady himself. It took another second until the alpha's grey eyes traveled from those small hands holding tightly onto his shirt towards the other's face, his gaze getting stuck on the green depth that was the tanned boy's eyes that slowly opened as the boy blinked. He found himself staring for a second or two, before a realisation hit him. 

This boy smelled weird; as though there were trances of all secondary genders making up his scent and mingling together. He smelled as determined and angry as was common with alphas, and as easy-going as was usually the case with betas. There was a hint of sweetness (and distress?) to his scent that was usually found in only omegas, and Levi wondered if he was imagining it; there were definitely no omegas allowed in school, so there was simply no way. 

Still, something seemed off about that boy. 

..

Eren's nerves were getting to him, although he'd never admit it aloud. His suppressants weren't working properly for whatever exact reason, and he was internally freaking out, unsure what to do about it. Or how bad it really was- maybe only he himself noticed it? But there was no mistaking it, somewhere throughout the morning, he'd registered that his smell had changed. Along with that, he felt like his perception of other people's smells was more accurate than was usually the case, with his suppressants working. 

Eren's suppressants weren't of the usual sort. Normally, these pills were designed to weaken someone's scent, in order to make it easier for them to function in daily life. Strong alphas, for example, would need strong suppressants in order to not affect others too much with the potency of their smell. He, however, needed them for a different reason. The brunette was determined to become an actor. Despite the fact that he had presented as an omega at the age of thirteen. 

And since there was no way for an omega to be accepted into the theatre program of this, or any school for that matter, he'd asked, or rather begged for his father to help him out. And help he had received; in the form of small blue pills that didn't only serve to hide the natural smell of his body. They also made it so that he smelled like an alpha instead, although he'd sometimes been mistaken for a beta, too. It depended on the hormonal changes in his body, his father had once explained to him, though that was pretty much as far as Eren's knowledge about the matter went.

The details honestly didn't matter to him though, as long as no one discovered him for what he really was. 

And thanks to his unusual personality for an omega, he'd managed to keep up the image of being an alpha of an omega in almost every aspect; except for his body. He wasn't quite as muscular as the other guys and his body didn't grow as much hair. His skin was softer, and his hands were smaller, more delicate looking. Despite his easily evoked rage, he wasn't all that strong either, though that had never stopped him from getting into a fight every now and then, mostly over something stupid with Jean. Whenever any of this was mentioned to him, he blamed it on the fact that he'd taken after his mother for some reason. 

If anyone had been suspicious of him up until now, they hadn't shown it. Eren had been accepted into the class consisting of alphas and betas only, and he'd managed quite well so far, using other sorts of pills to suppress each and every single one of his heats also, so he didn't need to explain to anyone why he'd be gone for a week every months.

In fact, he didn't want much to do with his secondary gender anyway. He just wanted to practice his acting, and continue to ignore those more unpleasant matters, like his natural need for closeness and feeling protected. He honestly could do without that. 

Now, in the second year of his theatre class, they'd be learning to pose in front of cameras and how to put themselves in the right angle for a photographer to be happy with it. That in itself already had the boy a bit stressed out since he wasn't exactly comfortable with his own body in the same way all the others were at ease with theirs, oozing confidence and charisma. Years of hiding one's true self probably didn't really help with that, he figured. Eren wasn't truly living with his body, he was fighting against it in many ways - and that wasn't an easy way to live.

"Levi Ackermann and Eren Jäger," Eren heard as the words were being called out. His mind was still preoccupied with the apparent problem with his medication, and he tried not to let himself become too stressed out, lest his omega scent became even more intense and easy to notice. The brunette moved forward then, not noticing when Jean, an alpha from his class, stretched his leg out and effectively made him stumble; right into the chest of the photography student he'd be working with who just had to appear in front of hin in that very moment, of course.

The impact wasn't quite so gentle. 

And for a short moment, the younger boy was too stunned to move, grasping the pale student's black pullover tightly in fear of falling to the ground. Once he came to the conclusion that the two of them were still standing, and that he was being held up on his legs by the other's strong arms, the alpha's smell assaulted Eren's senses in a way he wasn't quite used to. It surrounded him, like a cloud of perfume. Masculine, and yet somewhat soothing perfume. 

With his suppressors intact, he usually found it fairly easy to be around tons of alphas and not be affected by it at all. Their smell just didn't get through to him entirely, and it prevented all sorts of awkward body reactions. Like right now, for example, his heart had spontaneously decided to freak out completely and hammer itself against the walls of Eren's chest with full force like an iron hammer.

Or the way his body stiffened and he seemed unable to move a muscle and get away from the other. His fingers were still digging into that black fabric, and his heart was still beating wildly. It took an awful amount of strength for him to open his eyes and turn towards the other's face, staring up into cold grey. 

It wasn't easy to read the expression on the raven's face. Eren felt like he was being stared into; like those eyes were piercing right down to his soul, and leaving him utterly exposed in the process.

That was new; and the sensation of it was utterly scary in a way. He felt like an open book for the other to read from as he pleased. 

"Are you okay?" the alpha's deep voice reached his ears and Eren wasn't so sure anymore. He could feel the alpha's chest vibrate as he spoke. 

Was he okay? He was definitely sure by now that his pills were failing him, and that he'd need to talk to his father about this whole debacle sooner rather than later.

But in that moment of all, rational thoughts waved him goodbye as the information was transfered to Eren's brain that there was that hard, probably quite muscular chest right underneath his fingers, with only a thin layer of fabric separating him from really touching it. 

He swallowed twice, looking at his own fingers, and then up again. 

The boy's voice was still failing him along with his body, and the situation was rapidly escalating into awkward territory. 

He took a deep breath of air then, trying to relax his entire being and behave like any normal person would. He needed to apologise to the other. Why was it currently so hard to act normally, though? Why wasn't his body behaving in the way he wanted it to? Why did all of this feel so strange to him? 

He really wanted to apologise to the other now.

But that wasn't what his body was currently doing, instead he felt himself slowly moving forward, and steadily closer to the body next to him; his neck more specifically. The pull was magnetic, and Eren was only half aware that he was currently breaking all sorts of social rules by leaning into the other's space like this and, not quite discreetly, smelling him.

That was an intimate thing to do, oftentimes too intimate for even friends to be so obvious about it. 

Because someone's scent was the strongest in their neck area, and to put it bluntly, scenting each other in most cases was something people did with sexual thoughts in the back of their minds. 

The scent he was rewarded with was worth it though; a mixture of so many things that Eren couldn't exactly tell apart. In a way, it reminded him of winter though. Of both the cold days and nights and the freezing air; as well as the warm evenins spent sitting in front of the TV with a hot cup of tea nearby.

He stopped himself just before he would get completely lost in the other's unique smell that had wrapped around him like a spider's web. 

Green eyes opened wide as the realisation struck him. Not only had he just fucking smelled an older alpha; he'd also proceeded to practically pull the raven's face into his own neck as he'd leaned over like that. On the damn day when his pills weren't working properly of all days. 

Had the other been noticed?

The anxiety that came with that thought had him fighting internally not to attempt and hide his face in the other's calming scent again, instead opting to finally pull his hands off that chest and take a step back. 

His mind kept screaming at him however, reminding him that he wanted to get closer instead of pulling away. He ignored it though, finding it easier as well as harder to breathe as he left the other boy's personal space.

By the time he'd done that, his cheeks were painted in a deep tone of red.

"I'm so sorry," he said, sounding stressed out even to his own ears. What exactly was he even apologising for? Stumbling? Getting too close? Being a creep? 

Probably all three were true. 

He'd lost control over itself for a moment there, and that scared him. 

The older of the two just stared at him, not saying a word. A moment later, he grabbed Eren's wrist and pulled him away from the other's eyes and to the side. 

"I'm Levi," the alpha introduced himself without many words. 

And for some reason, Eren couldn't help but stare again. 'Levi,' he thought, 'the name suits him.'

And in a way, it did. The brunette took in the details of the other's pale face; the sharp features and cold eyes that looked somewhat tired but for the most part, pissed off. That oddly mesmerising face was framed by dark hair that the alpha wore in an undercut, emphasising his jawline for some reason. Or maybe Eren was just staring very hard and over analysing the other's appearance. 

He attempted to compose himself yet again, offering his hand, "I'm Eren. And I'm sorry for stumbling into you, I swear that horse-faced dick Jean just had to pull shit like that and kick me in the heel. I should have seen it coming, really," he started rambling. 

Only to be stopped by the other's voice. 

"Let's just - let's talk about what you want those photos to look like," Levi suggested, ignoring the other topic entirely. 

Eren thought about it for a moment. 

"I thought we could try to take some shots in nature. Like, a forest maybe. Or a lake, maybe the ocean even."

Levi didn't look too enthusiastic, and Eren could basically smell it too. The reason he wanted to have his pictures taken in nature was mostly that there weren't many people around to watch him get photographed; and that maybe nature would distract from him in the photos if he wasn't good at modeling. 

"Uh, what were you going to suggest we do?" the brunette found himself asking curiously.

"I was thinking about black and white photos taken in the city mostly. Maybe in some sort of ally, or something." 

That wasn't at all what had come to Eren's mind, really. But something told him that his best choice here was to come up with a compromise; he honestly didn't want to get into an argument with an alpha in his current state of being a hormonal mess.

Although it did feel like standing so close to an alpha and smelling so much of his scent as Eren did had somehow helped his body calm down in a sense. 

Was Levi doing that on purpose or was his scent just always like that? 

"I- uh. That's great too. I mean it sounds great. We could maybe combine both? Like using the same poses in different settings? Maybe we could try doing black and white in the city and taking colorful photos in the forest to match them in a way?" Eren wasn't really so sure his ideas were even making sense, but something kept him talking, as though if he talked long enough, he might actually end up saying something Levi would approve of. That realisation was unsettling, to say the least. The brunette only hoped that his body wasn't betraying him too obviously, trying to keep his scent from doing its thing. His thoughts were definitely not as controlled as they usually were.

Omegas had the natural instinct of wanting to show off their scent, their positive qualities and their body, especially when alphas were around to notice them for it. 

Today though, that was the first time Eren had ever really felt like that. It was like his body was betraying him. 

"That's something to work with at least, " Levi murmured, staring thoughtfully into an empty bit of space behind Eren, seemingly a bit lost in thought. 

Until he spoke. "There's something off about your scent, brat. I'm not sure how to explain it, but you smell almost like-" 

That's where Eren had to interrupt him, not wanting the other to say the word out loud. 

"I've been having trouble with my suppressants, and I know I need to see a doctor about it. It's nothing serious though, many people in my family have allergic reactions to medication" he explained, not entirely caring whether that excuse made sense or not. He'd figured that would do, after all it wasn't that uncommon for people to struggle with their suppressants. 

Those grey eyes were becoming a bit too intense as they focused on the brunette, and he wasn't sure whether the other had seen right through his lie or if it had worked.

"Just, be careful. With the way you're smelling right now, you might get all the wrong kinds of attention." 

This shut Eren up for another moment. 

Levi's words, although probably friendly in nature, suggested that he cared about him on some level already. Maybe he really did? That idea was enough to make Eren's face flash the other a grateful, unusually affectionate smile, while something in the back of his mind screamed at him to stop acting this way. 

He wasn't quite listening however, as was often the case for him. 

The silence lingered for another moment, before Eren opened his mouth, "I'll make sure to go to the doctor soon, honestly. Uhm, we only have like, maybe two minutes left until class is over. I guess we need to meet up or maybe at least exchange... uh- numbers." He'd realised halfway through his words how awkward and nervous he had began to sound the closer he came to the exchanging numbers part. 

This wasn't awkward, they needed to do this for the project, Eren tried to tell himself. 

But it still wasn't calming him down as much as he wished it would. 

"You're asking me for my number, kid?" Levi chuckled and in that moment Eren wanted to punch him for embarrassing him even more than he himself already had. 

"I,.. yeah." Now Eren wanted to punch himself for being such a lame and stuttering mess. 

..

Levi raised a brow in response to the boy's uncertain voice. The whole thing he'd said about having trouble with his medication had already sounded weird as it was, but coupled with the boy's weird behavior, Levi truly wasn't so sure what to make of the.. alpha? 

He was just wondering why no one else seemed to notice yet. Then again, he'd only really noticed the scent once he'd come close to the boy; or to be more clear, when he'd basically shoved his face into his neck. He must be taking strong medication, that much was for sure, because otherwise Levi wouldn't have needed to get so close. 

He hadn't even commented on the whole thing, choosing to instead watch the silent embarrassment that had crawled on the boy's face ever since that moment. 

And now, that stuttering mess of an alpha was asking him for his number, face red like a tomato. 

If Levi didn't know any better, he'd almost thought he was the problem. Judging by the way the other's eyes always seemed to be on him. 

But it wasn't common for alphas to develop crushes on the same secondary gender. 

Maybe Eren was just awkward like that around every new person he met. 

That's what the alpha told himself. 

In order to not get the wrong idea. 

He didn't comment on the other's words and instead silently grabbed the phone from the smaller boy's pocket, watching him fidget nervously when the pale hand came closer. 

The screen wasn't locked using a key word, so he simply went to 'contacts' and added his 'Levi' to the list of numbers. 

"My number, there you have it," he said and held the display in front of Eren's face who clumsily grabbed it. 

"Thanks," the brunette said and grinned at Levi like an idiot. 

Maybe Levi was imagining it? Or was Eren moving closer to him again? 

The other's pupils looked a little dilated, making his eyes look darker. His hair was a mess, but his lips looked soft to Levi. He could see the other take in a deep breath, and his body suddenly seemed a little alarmed, noticing that smell again that didn't remind him much of an alpha at all. 

And Eren was close now, close enough for Levi to feel his warm breath on him. 

Just in that moment, the bell ring and Eren seemed to quickly snap out of his daze, him and Levi both looked at each other in confusion. 

And then the brunette nearly jumped away from the raven, clearly shocked once he realised he'd done it again. 

"Bye," Eren yelled and Levi was, for once, at a loss of words. 

What had just happened? What kind of moment had that just been?

How had Eren disappeared so fast, leaving Levi alone in the room full of people rushing towards the hallways?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos!   
> Here's yet another chapter. (:

Eren was sitting on his bed; curled up in a pile of soft blankets that helped him create the sensation of being less alone in the apartment. It kept him warm, at least; he'd been feeling so hot a while ago that he'd taken most of his clothes off, but then it had quickly become too cold instead. A fever, perhaps. He didn't want to consider the possibility of it having to do with today's weird happenings. His inner omega was now even more demanding than earlier; now that he had the other boy's number, he was constantly fighting with himself, trying not to text him. 

He'd only gotten the other's number a few hours ago, and it would be too soon to call or text. Logically speaking.

After he'd rushed out of the classroom, fleeing from the awkward situation he'd put them in, the brunette had hurried home and instantly called his father, only to be told that he currently wasn't at home and wouldn't return for the next week; perhaps a bit longer even. 

Of course his father just had to be gone now when he honestly, really needed his help for once. 

Unsure what else to do, Eren had just swallowed an additional one of his blue pills, but he had yet to really feel much of an improvement. Still, his instincts were running wild, just like they had done earlier. He felt restless, his thoughts drifting back to the alpha he'd met at school today; they kept doing that although he really wished they didn't. 

The whole thing was embarrassing to say the least, a nightmare to be more precise. He'd smelled the guy like some dog would, and he hadn't only done it once either. Even now, Eren was still grateful that the alarm had interrupted their moment. 

If one could even call it that. 

But it definitely wasn't a good idea to let his mind daydream about an alpha from his school. In fact, that was a horrible idea, because it wasn't like him and it was likely to mean trouble. 

Still, he found himself unlocking his phone, and going through his list of contacts. 

Levi. 

A more rational part of Eren's mind told him once more that this maybe wasn't such a clever idea; that he should just call in sick, stay away from school and alphas, and lock himself up in here until his father would be back home to help him solve his problem. 

But just a quick apology couldn't hurt, could it? 

'Hey, Levi. This is my number.. it's me, Eren. I wanted to apologise for disappearing on you like that yesterday, I had an important call to make.'

Sent.

And then he waited. And waited, and waited. It had probably been no more than 5 minutes yet, but the short time span felt like an eternity to Eren still. What if Levi wouldn't reply and leave Eren behind in this state of embarrassing restlessness over it instead? 

What if he'd given him the wrong number, and he'd sent that text to a stranger? 

Or maybe he was just becoming a little too paranoid over this. Trying to distract himself from the thoughts backfired though, as the only thing that seemed to come to Eren's mind when he was looking for something to calm him down was that overwhelming scent he'd smelled earlier. Levi. As though his mind was fixated on it, there was no way around that particular memory. 

Just imagining it, trying to fully recall it, did something funny to Eren. He'd only half noticed that he was beginning to stroke his soft, baby blue blanket over his skin, first over his lips and cheeks, and then going further down, to his neck. Soft fabrics had always been something omegas were known to take great enjoyment in, but for Eren, it wasn't usually like this. He'd been successfully pretending to be an alpha for years, and now he suddenly couldn't hold back from cuddling with his own damn blanket? 

He became aware again of his actions suddenly, letting the blanket fall down and staring at it as if it had wronged him somehow. 

No matter how hard he tried though, he couldn't seem to snap out of it completely, the urge to be touched already coming back to him, begging for some sort of warmth, something - a little something that hadn't replied to his text yet. 

Having reminded himself of his source of worry yet again, the omega couldn't help but urgently grab the blanket, and rub it against himself, desperately. Supposedly, it was another normal thing for omegas to do; rubbing their scent on their surroundings and collecting all sorts of things in order to build up their own little safe space, although that was -as far as Eren remembered- a behavior that usually started sometime before going into heat. 

Heat. 

That meant hell, literally. 

But this couldn't be what this was about; it was just his pheromone suppressants that weren't working properly, not the other pills.

He hadn't been through even one heat after presenting, having successfully made it clear to his father that he wasn't ever going through that again. That generally wasn't a healthy thing to do; but Eren honestly had other things to worry about than spending a week in some hotel or something every month or so, doing God knows what. He'd rather take the risk of taking a few more pills than spontaneously going unto heat.

In fact, he still felt his cheeks grow red as he thought of his first heat; how he'd suddenly felt all those weird urges and how his body had basically started a riot in him. That's what it had felt like to him at the time. Now, five years later and having managed to block out most of his memories from back then, he felt a whole lot like he was right back in the same situation. Older, but no more ready for his inner omega to take a hold of him like that. 

 

Still, right then and there, he simply had no way of fighting it any longer; his body had felt warm and restless just like his mind had ever since that morning. And before the brunette could even register it, he'd let his hand travel down to his boxers, stroking himself through the fabric and noticing that he was hard already. He pushed his underwear down his legs slowly, growing impatient halfway through and kicking it off instead, his pulse racing at the mere few touches. 

Something really was wrong with him, there was no denying it. 

Rather unused to the sensation of touching himself, the boy stroked the hot piece of flesh clumsily, a moan spilling over his lips once he found somewhat of a rhythm. 

Although, he could hardly deny that there was another area of skin waiting to be toyed with; yet again his inner omega made itself known. He was wrapped up in blankets and surrounded by pillows still, and he had to close his eyes, unable to look at it as he pushed his hand further behind, finding his hole instantly. He was wet down there. Not quite as much as was natural for a heat, but still wet in the way omegas just happened to do when aroused. 

But that didn't happen while his pills were working; they prevented it. 

At that very moment though, he honestly couldn't bring himself to give much of a damn, one thin finger already sliding past the entrance, his body sucking it inside greedily. That's when a full-blown moan escaped his mouth, his eyes shut tightly as he arched his back. 

God, why did this have to feel so unbearably amazing? 

He let his finger slide out of his body, only to push it back in, his own warm fluids covering his fingers and creating obscene, rhythmic sounds. Although he got more and more lost in the sensation, panting and moaning, it felt as though there was something missing - like he needed something more than just his own finger to really help him out right now. 

Like he needed- 

Levi. 

The name flashed on his phone as it broke out into a loud ringing. 

Levi was calling him and Eren currently had his middle finger knuckle deep up his own ass. 

Before he was able to think it through, he'd picked up though; overjoyed by the fact that Levi was, indeed, calling him. 

For what reason though, he had no clue. 

"Eren?" the voice left his phone and Eren's body jerked forward when he heard the alpha say his name, all of his muscles doing their own thing. It was involuntary, and definitely not a clever move. Because the omega didn't reply with a sentence; his finger had curled inside him, causing a loud, breathy whimper to leave his lips instead that faded into a soft moan as the brunette moved his finger inside of himself.

A moment of quiet followed, and in that short moment, Eren went from being an instinct-driven mess to being a real, embarrassed and utterly shocked mess. 

Not knowing what else to do, he hung up, not even waiting for the raven's reaction. The boy pulled his finger out, and rushed into the bathroom, muttering to himself in disbelief, "this didn't just fucking happen."

 

.. 

Levi would be lying if he said that it didn't piss him off. Thanks to his assigned partner who had not only fled from the classroom in record speed, but also managed to forget both his backpack and the sheets the teacher had handed out last minute, Levi was currently carrying those very items around, having been asked by the teacher to try and give them to Eren. Today, if possible, so they could get started planning their project properly, as she had said.

'I've gotta lock the door and Eren could surely use his backpack and homework, would you be so kind as to drop it off at his place? He is your project partner after all," the teacher had asked him in this 'I might be asking, but I'm basically just ordering it' kind of tone, and he'd accepted defeat. Some fights just weren't worth it, especially with teachers who had a lot of liberty in influencing your grades. 

Damn that lady. 

Levi had realised his mistake too late, and by the time he sat in his car with Eren's things on the passenger's seat, he finally realised that he neither had the boy's number nor his address. 

Amazing. Just amazing. He should have known having a peaceful weekend wouldn't be that easy. 

The alpha took a deep breath, feeling unsettled for some reason. Maybe, just maybe it had to do with the earlier incident. What had Eren even been thinking? Why had he come close to him like that, and with such a telling gesture no less? 

Did that kid really do that with everyone? Was he weird like that? Whatever the case, something about how fast he'd disappeared, coupled with the boy's touchy-feely nature, had rubbed Levi the wrong way.

His mood had dropped quite fast once the lesson was over, and now he was just honestly pissed. For whatever reason though, he couldn't pinpoint. He himself wasn't usually one for being overly polite, but the way Eren had run off, it was like he'd been just a bit too glad to get away from Levi. 

Maybe that had something to do with it? 

Levi would forever deny it if that was the case. He didn't care, that's what he told himself instead, getting increasingly more annoyed by the minute. 

Eventually, he decided that if there was anything that might help him at this very moment, it was definitely tea. 

That's why he found himself driving through the streets for 5 minutes or so, ordering himself a tea in a small café. 

He sat there, staring at the cup as his mind tried to figure out just what it was with that Jäger kid. There was something so obviously off with the boy, and yet Levi was unsure whether all of that had really been as weird as it had felt to him, or if he was maybe putting too much thought into it? 

He wasn't normally one to care about other's behavior too much, considering the majority of humanity to be a bit on the slow side either way. 

And while he wouldn't say he cared, it still definitely went in that direction with Eren. He briefly wished he could read the other's thoughts, but let that idea go as fast as it came; there was no use in attempting to figure the boy out with what little information he had on him. 

Although Levi did burn his tongue accidentally when he received a text from Eren, the tea honestly seemed to calm him down somewhat. Yeah, that definitely had nothing to do with the fact that Eren had actually bothered to text him this fast, apologising for running away like that. 

That meant that Eren hadn't run away from Levi. 

Now he felt even more stupid for having worried about that. And worried that it worried him, too. 

The raven drank his cup of tea as fast as possible without burning himself before he got up and left the building. Finally sitting in his car again, he added Eren's number to his contacts and called him, for the sake of not having to exchange too many texts about this. 

He was just going to ask for Eren's address, drop his stuff off there, and then the weekend could really begin. 

His call was answered on the fifth ring, and Levi was the first to speak. 

"Eren?" he asked, wondering whether the other had a habit of not properly greeting people on the phone.

Levi had expected a lot of things, but definitely not the sound he was greeted with upon speaking the other's name. 

"Nnh," the soft noise was underlined with heavy breaths, and there was a neediness to that voice that Levi was honestly unable to handle. This was definitely Eren and he'd definitely just moaned into the phone unless it was some porn running in the background but.. it definitely had sounded the way Eren might sound when moaning. 

Not like Levi had imagined that sound or anything. 

But the fact that this had honestly just happened - that stunned the raven. 

And then, Eren hung up on him. And Levi was even more confused than before. 

It took about three minutes of silently staring into empty space with a full mind until he had an incoming call, from Eren. 

And god, the kid was even more of a mess than he had been in the morning, by the sound of it. 

"Hey, uh it's me. I'm sorry I just stubbed my toe and I hung up out of surprise."

"You.. stubbed your toe?" Levi asked, to make sure he'd heard him correctly. 

"Yeah uh..," Eren trailed off before his brain seemingly caught up with him, "why did you call me in the first place?" 

"What's your address? I have your backpack and papers with me, and I wanted to drop them off before going home." 

Silence followed. And a cough. 

"You still there, kid?" 

"I live in a small apartment by the campus. Building A, room number 179. But I gotta take a quick shower. Give me ten minutes?" 

"Sure, I'll be there then," Levi said and hung up, unable to ignore the weird tone of Eren's voice and his initial hesitation to give out his address. 

Or the moan that had definitely not sounded like one of pain. 

'I just need to give the kid his stuff and then I can go home and get some sleep,' Levi reminded himself, unable to deny that he was a bit excited at the thought of getting to see how and where Eren lived. And what the hell was up with him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments, I really appreciate it a lot (: 
> 
> Here's the third chapter! 
> 
> Oh, and Levi's not that great with omegas, but he has his reasons for this which will be revealed later on.

The moment the call had ended, Eren found himself jumping out of bed, running around like a madman, throwing his smelly clothes into the bathroom, throwing the window open with way too much force in his movements; his whole body felt electrified, energetic to a point that had him almost worried. Levi was going to be here in about 8 minutes, and Eren honestly had no idea what was going on. 

He'd just fucking moaned the other in the face, practically. Through a phone but no less obviously. And covered it up with the shittiest excuse his mind had managed to supply him with. What was even wrong with him? 

Stubbed his toe? Hell yeah, that was so damn believable. 

Seven minutes. 

Deciding to save those embarrassed thoughts for his late night panicking, the boy practically flew into the bathroom, almost slipping on the wet floor as he entered the shower, legs still shaky. The brunette steadied himself against the wall, and the coldness of the tiles at least brought his mind somewhat back into his body. The ice cold water helped him, too, although it was hard to suppress a shriek at the shock when it met his heated skin. He bit his lip as he stepped underneath completely, pouring what felt like half a bottle of shampoo into his hands, washing the needy, submissive scent off his body as well as he could. 

By now, he had no idea how many minutes were even left. 

So instead of continuing to count the minutes he had left, he just wrapped himself up in a big, black towel, speed-drying his skin before stepping into a fresh pair of boxers, jumping into his tight, black jeans and slipping a black shirt over his head. The boy hadn't ever been that fast to put on his clothes before. Mainly, because there was no way he'd open the door without proper clothes on, not when Levi was coming to visit. 

Levi coming to visit him; that sounded so right to his ears. 

He shook his head in the way a wet dog might, getting water everywhere but still managing to create his usual hairstyle with that method. Before he had a chance to rub the mist off his mirror and look at his reflection, there were three loud knocks coming from the room next door. Eren was in front of it an instant later, letting his eyes roam over his mess of a room; piles of blankets on the bed, clothes piled up on the floor and a dying plant on his desk. 

He'd never been one for cleanliness, and the current state of his room wasn't even the worst these walls had seen. Back when his mother was still around, his messy lifestyle had literally been the only reason she'd ever raised her voice with him.

He still hadn't learned though, and the boy was sure that the woman would still scold him for it, would she be able to. 

He'd even had a dream about that once. 

Right now however, Eren sort of wished he was a bit more of a tidy person. People rarely visited his tiny living space, and this certainly wasn't the best first impression to make on someone like Levi. Someone he, for some reason, felt the need to impress. 

But that hadn't worked out at all so far. 

He could only hope it was a wise decision to even open that door. 

And God, it honestly wasn't, probably. 

Because once the brunette had opened the door and caught a glimpse of the raven standing in the hallway, he swore he felt something inside of him crack, and the boy stood completely still, knowing that if he wasn't extremely careful now, he'd fuck up and bury his face in the other's neck. Like a damn snake wrapping itself around its prey. 

That's sort of how he felt, really. 

Like he was going to eat the other alive. 

Levi's smell was just a bit too good to be true, it was like fog in the air; invisible but it still got you wet. Literally, In Eren's caee. The earthy smell that seemed cold and warm, red and blue, overly dominant and yet, like home. It promised excitement and underneath that, safety. 

And he winced at the sensation when the wetness began to dampen his underwear already, his body honestly just a bit too eager. The promises hoffen in that smell did that to him so easily.

The brunette attempted his best to ignore the sensation though, feeling awkward as he stood there, but it was no comparison to the moment he looked into those grey eyes. Levi looked fucking pissed, and it showed in his eyes. 

Eren instinctively averted his gaze, looking down and attempting his best not to whine desperately. All it took was one cold gaze from the alpha for his inner omega to feel devastated; rejected.

Why didn't Levi seem happy to meet him? Eren definitely was. 

That was another thing the boy hated about his secondary gender; the mood swings. How vulnerable it all made him. He wanted to run away and touch the other simultaneously; it confused him to no end. 

Eren stepped aside, voice silent as he let the taller boy inside, "Hey." 

The omega had to close his eyes as Levi brushed past him, all of his senses overwhelmed at once with the close proximity and the feelings that bubbled up inside of his chest as a result of it. 

He wanted more than just the other's smell.

"What the hell, have you never heard of cleaning?" was basically the last thing in the world Eren had expected for Levi to greet him with, but it did manage to make him snap out of his trance. 

"I- uh, I wasn't expecting anyone to visit."

Levi didn't even turn around to face him, scanning the piles of stuff that covered all sorts of surfaces in the room, even the floor. 

"And you feel comfortable living in this.." the raven pointed at the room, "this pile of dirt? It looks like a bomb dropped in here and it smells like.." 

He stopped there and Eren held his breath. 

"What does it smell like, huh?" Eren asked, his voice so sultry, he didn't recognise it himself. He needed to hear it; his whole body asking for nothing more than Levi to tell him that he smelled good. 

That he felt just as weirdly affected by his smell as Eren did by Levi's. 

And then, the alpha shoved his backpack into his stomach suddenly, almost making Eren stumble backwards in the process. 

Their eyes locked and for some reason, Eren refused to back down this time. He wasn't sure what it was - but Eren could surely feel that there was something bothering the raven and it most likely had to do with Eren, too. 

Levi's eyes seemed cold, his movements calculated and his voice was just.. empty. Empty of emotion, while at the same time, not at all. 

There were no words to really express the impression that Eren got, or what it meant. 

"Your backpack. The assignmet sheets are inside," he informed Eren curtly, already turning around, ready to walk right out again. 

But Eren wouldn't have that. If he'd been able to pose as an alpha for the most part of his youth, then he could definitely call Levi out on his weird behavior. He reached out, grabbing the other's shoulder and tensing up when he felt the muscles hidden underneath the alphas shirt. Damn. 

But, he tried to compose himself, sounding almost self confident as he spoke, "What's up with you? You're being weird." 

Okay, maybe this came across a bit weirder than he'd intended for it to. 

..

Levi had honestly had about enough with the kid the moment he entered Eren's room and that smell had hit him. Hit? More like wrapped itself around his throat until he was unable to even breathe; that smell had assaulted him like a wild animal. 

But he hadn't said anything at first.

He'd just kept his mouth shut and refused to aknowledge what he realised right then and there in Eren's room. And if one thing was certain; it was that this was an omega's room.

'Literally all I need to do is give him his shit, not say a word and leave. Weekend. Two minutes at most, and I won't have to see or smell him for three days. This is literally none of my business and definitely not my problem.' 

And it all worked out up until the 'give him his shit' part. 

Because just when Levi was about to leave and finally get some fresh air into his lungs, a hand held his shoulder back, and the raven cursed himself for how weird Eren's touch made his skin feel, even with fabric separating the two of them still.

'What's up with you? You're being weird," Eren had the audacity to say. 

And then his smaller body was entering Levi's personal space once again, like a shadow Levi could feel him crawl up behind him, reaching for his shoulder and letting his fingers stay there. 

And that's when the raven failed to hold back the irritation that the boy seemed to invoke inside him; he'd had enough. Whatever the boy thought he was doing, he seemingly failed to realise just what it did to Levi's inner alpha. 

Eren didn't fucking know him, and as far as Levi was concerned, the kid was full of bullshit. 

"Problems with your medication, huh? What the hell is up with you? That's the real question here. You smell like just about the furthest thing from an alpha there is, and you keep randomly coming way too close and freaking smelling me like it's a perfectly normal thing to do. Well, let me tell you this once, it's not. Do whatever you want, try to fool yourself or the people around you, smell them, fuck them, live in a building full of alphas smelling like this.. but just don't get me involved in your pretty little drama, alright?" 

He honestly hadn't meant for it to come out that way. He hadn't meant for those words to come out at all. 

This was just what he hadn't wanted. 

Whenever an omega was involved in anything, it meant problems. Lots of them. 

Levi had learned that the hard way. 

Eren's scent and the way Levi reacted to it reminded him all too much of the past; more specifically, a part of his past he was more than done with. 

He'd has just about enough with those little games omegas were always playing, and he'd made it a rule to keep his distance from that particular secondary gender. 

And Eren's act of pretense only served to confirm his thoughts concerning the matter. 

But when he stared into those turquoise eyes to emphasise his words, he wasn't ready for what they said to him, wide and shocked. Those damn eyes were just too easy to read; like an annoying newspaper bombarding you with information you could've done without. Rage and sadness were quickly becoming the dominant feelings to be seen inside them, but when the boy opened his mouth it was easy for Levi to figure out just what he'd settled on in the end. 

"Are you fucking serious?" Eren spat the words out, "I have no fucking clue what you're talking about, and if you're that much of an asshole, then it's fine either way. I won't come anywhere near you again, don't worry, and I definitely won't be missing out on anything by doing that. As far as I can see, you're the only one making a drama out of nothing here. I have no clue where you got all that bullshit from."

"You know what? Don't talk to me until you start believing the words that leave your own lips," Levi replied, his tone dark, and his pheromones through the roof for various reasons. 

That's what the boy's smell did to him- it made Levi want to beat someone up. 

That's how frustrating it all was. 

He didn't even know why he was so enraged by the fact that Eren was lying to him. After all, they barely did know each other. 

But it didn't feel like that. 

No matter what his rational mind was trying to tell Levi, all he could focus on were those terrorising feelings inside him. The knowledge that any alpha might just wander in here with less self control than the raven had. The fact that despite having been figured out, Eren was still trying to lie to him. That Levi had honestly hoped his initial suspicions would be proven imaginary. 

Eren was an omega; and that made it dangerous for Levi to even be in the same room as him. 

What bothered him most about it all was the fact that despite everything, it was incredibly hard for him to stay away from the boy. Everything he did, on purpose or not, was pulling Levi closer. 

That smell, those damn eyes, his movements, and even the stupid words that left those soft lips. 

Which might just be one of the reasons his anger was getting the better of him.

Not so much to deliberately hurt Eren as it was a way to protect himself from the effect the other had on him. 

He'd said that he refused to be pulled into all that chaos, and he'd meant it, too. 

Even if that meant leaving Eren there; standing behind the door with wide eyes that slowly seemed to run out of anger and settled on pain instead. 

Levi knew, because for some reason he was feeling it, too. 

But they'd only met each other today, and it was better off this way, honestly. 

He told himself that as he closed the door practically into Eren's face, not making the mistake of looking into those eyes again. 

Suddenly, not even the thought of the weekend helped him to brighten his mood anymore, and he practically had to tear himself away from Eren's smell that had him thinking all the wrong thoughts. 

..

The rest of Friday evening was agony to Eren. He kept checking his phone constantly, hoping internally for a miracle in the form of a sudden 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be an ass' message or something, but to no avail. 

Nothing came. 

Levi didn't seem to even care. 

And that felt horrible, to both him as a person and the omega inside him. It was like Eren's instincts were yelling at him loudly, accusing him. 'You pushed your alpha away, well done.' 

But Levi wasn't his alpha. 

And Levi wanted nothing to do with Eren anymore, probably just never had in the first place.

He'd probably been disappointed to work with Eren on his photography project. 

That thought was the first in a downwards spiral of self doubt and insecurity. It wasn't like Eren had ever based his confidence on any alpha's opinion of him, but he didn't feel like he had much of a choice in the matter this time. Everything inside him ached for the other, not just in a sexual sense, but in the sense of just wanting their fight to stop. 

He had it even come to this? 

Eren still didn't understand how quickly everything had spiralled out of control like that.

He wanted to be able to look forward to seeing the other again, instead of fearing that it simply wouldn't happen.

That night, Eren didn't sleep, and it took him five cups of coffee to get enough energy to even get up and put the trash outside. After a quick glance around, he decided that he definitely wouldn't be leaving the house again anytime soon, instead remaining in the comfort of his bed, the backpack Levi had given him right next to his pillow. 

Despite everything, that scent still managed to keep him alive somehow, no matter how wrecked he was emotionally.

Physically, too. 

Despite his anger and frustration over the situation, his body continued to trick him into those inappropriate thoughts and feelings for the other. Levi wasn't even his friend, and yet Eren internally thought of him as way more than that...

By Saturday afternoon though, his paranoid thoughts had the brunette completely cornered. All of his thoughts were involving Levi; and he felt like he'd lost something incredibly important. 

A chance of something great happening.

Levi.

If there had ever been any chance at all, that is. Probably not. 

Levi had clearly noticed his scent, and yet he still hadn't reacted to it in any obvious way. That was basically a punch right in Eren's omega's face. 

It was like it hadn't affected him at all. And that only made it so much worse that Eren was already in so deep. 

By the time 5 PM came and went, Eren had grabbed the bottle of cheap vodka that Jean had at some point left here, hidden in a dark corner behind his couch.

And about an hour later, half the bottle had caused the desired effect, making the omega care about it all just a little less. 

He was loudly singing along to all sorts of sad and aggressive songs, although it sounded way better in his head than it did in reality. 

Alcohol could do that to you. 

Eren was however, feeling a tiny bit better, now more annoyed than depressed. He wanted to yell at someone; or to be hugged for a good ten minutes at least. 

His mistake was to keep drinking past that point, and it was about half an hour later that Eren found himself clumsily typing out a text message, eyes teary and thoughts not all that clear anymore.

'Levi we goffa fslk, I need to tell u a secret.' 

That's what the alpha wanted, right? 

For Eren to tell him the truth about his situation. 

And to be quite honest, Eren's drunk and impulsive self wanted nothing more at this very moment than a reason for Levi to talk to him. 

A chance to make things right, even when he still didn't understand the other's reaction completely. 

Or to ruin things between them even more.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep repeating myself, but thanks so much to everyone who reads this! You're amazing. 
> 
> I'll try to reply to comments as soon a possible. 
> 
> Enjoy chapter 4, hopefully.

Levi didn't get much sleep in the end. 

Friday evening had dragged by awfully slowly; he'd been busy avoiding the voice in the back of his head that kept reminding him of what he'd said to Eren earlier. 

Had the kid really deserved that? 

Or, had he been too harsh? He'd always been told that he wasn't quite the most eloquent person around. 

Levi didn't speak much in the first place simply because he preferred to keep a certain amount of distance between himself and others.

But why did he seem to get more and more involved in all of this even though he had simply tried to keep himself away from the other? He was pulling away and ending up closer to the other, or that's what it felt like anyway.

It was maddening, and Levi honestly wished he could just somehow stop this process altogether. 

Throughout the evening, the memories of Eren's scent kept coming back to him, like waves that made it impossible to keep his head above the water. That didn't stop the raven from trying though, keeping his instincts in check as far as he was able to. 

Although, he couldn't quite manage to wish the hardness between his legs away just like that. 

Not when he remembered that wrecked moan, or the boy with his hair still wet and skin flushed from the shower. 

Why did he have to smell so damn sweet?

Even though he couldn't completely ignore the fact that his body was reacting in this way, he still refused to indulge in any further fantasies. Or to touch himself thinking about the omega who claimed not to be one at all. 

'Such a shitty liar, really. Fuck him and his pretty eyes.'

That one thought pretty much summed up all the thoughts Levi had in his mind before falling asleep. 

And in his dream that night, Levi felt the weird sensation of being half aware of his surroundings, as though he was watching a movie and being too lazy to switch to another channel. 

He was in a forest. There were trees; tons of them. Juicy, green leaves and.. green eyes. 

Just him and Eren walking through the forest innocently; the kid was telling him some senseless story and smiling and Levi found himself trailing after the other like a shadow. Every now and then, Eren would grab his hand and refuse to let go. 

It wasn't a bad dream. 

Not bad at all, and that was a weird thing in itself. Whenever the raven did remember his dreams, they were usually about fights or conflicts. Nightmares, so to speak. 

This time though, there was none of that. 

Just this stupid warm feeling in his chest and that sensation of wanting to stay there with the other in this little peaceful scene that was all theirs. 

And that's when the phone rang and the alpha was startled awake by the noise. 

Hanji. Fucking Hanji. Of course.

"What is it?" he yelled into the phone. 

"Oh, you're still in a good mood, that's great. Maybe those happy drugs I've been injecting you secretly for weeks are working out for you after all." 

He didn't even bother to comment on her nonsense, instead choosing to repeat himself, "what is it, asshole?"

"Language, my boy," she laughed. 

"Language my ass, it's half past one in the fucking morning, and I'm honestly not in the mood right now. I was sleeping for once. Spill it."

"Remember the photos I took of you last month? Underneath that bridge? I picked them up today, and they're so damn amaaazing, you need to see them." 

"I don't care about those damn photos, it's not like I asked you to take any." 

"That doesn't matter because they're great. Amazing, even. Drop by my place tomorrow and I can show them to you. Plus, I have one surprise photo that I'm just sure you're going to love~ and I have a project in mind that involves you." 

As if he had ever enjoyed any surprise the other had had for him. 

"No, shove your surprise up your-" 

"Let's say three o'clock? Alright see you tomorrow." 

And then she'd hung up and Levi could mentally see that grin of triumph she must be wearing. 

And for the rest of the night, Levi was unable to fall asleep again; now too busy thinking about what little he still remembered of the dream involving Eren. 

At 6 in the morning, he was finally done attempting to go back to sleep, instead opting to leave the bed, curse the rainy weather and put his running clothes on before heading out. The raven's usual route led through the park, along the river and then towards an abandoned part of the city where the used to be a mall years ago. 

Today, there were puddles covering most parts of the street, and he had to jump across them again and again in order to not get his shoes completely wet. 

Thanks to certain thoughts still occupying the raven's mind though, his concentration was hardly at its best and before he'd seen it happening, he landed with his ass in a tiny pool of cold, muddy water. 

And if there was one damn thing the raven couldn't stand, then it was dirt. 

Now feeling like he'd been infected with some sort of deadly disease, the thought of finishing his route didn't hold much of an appeal to him anymore. 

Perhaps that was just what he deserved. 

A wet, cold ass. 

Nothing more and nothing less. 

But then again, it was not like him and Eren were much more than strangers anyway. How much could his words honestly have bothered the tanned brunette? 

Although, Eren had been so angry - so it must have mattered to him, in some way at least. 

"Fuck me, why am I still thinking about him?" the alpha asked himself as he'd finally made it inside his apartment, taking a quick shower before he made himself a reasonably simple breakfast; a cup of black tea and an apple. 

10:16 and he was already more than done with the day. 

.. 

It was five minutes to three when Levi knocked on Hanji's door, and she, as expected, opened it a fraction of a second later. 

"I swear you're always standing there and waiting for me to arrive aren't you?" 

"Definitely. Because I'm excited and you should be too. These photos are just so damn good. Why is it that you only ever model for me when I have blackmail material against you?" 

"God, stop being so enthusiastic for a second, I'm getting a headache," he muttered and pushed past the brunette, entering the chaos that was her room. All sorts of things - and that included honestly all sorts of things - were standing around everywhere. Glasses full of weird shit; thousands of photos and all sorts of things the raven didn't even want to know about. 

Hanji was honestly the weirdest person he knew. 

Besides Eren that is, but they were two opposite kinds of weird. That much was for sure. 

Hanji led Levi over to her desk, pushing him into the chair and standing, hovering above the desk as she began to fumble around with an envelope full of photos. 

The shots looked alright, Levi had to admit. Thanks to the fact that Hanji was definitely capable of thinking outside the box, she always managed to discover interesting angles and postures.

He'd never say that aloud though, because he knew that would mean a photo shoot with him as the model every day or so. Hanji was manic like that. 

So instead, he let out a sarcastic, "Amazing. Now those photos are all I came here for? What was that about a project and a surprise?" 

"Oh, Levi. I feel so honored, so you actually listened to what I was saying?" 

"Fuck off, it's impossible not to hear your loud ass hyena voice whenever you open your oversized mouth" he defended himself. 

Hanji just laughed, "fear not, I have your surprise right here. A photo I took with my polaroid at school today. I call this one 'the bad boy alpha who pretends no one is good enough for him but still eyes his project partner's ass like it's the source of life itself.' Alternative title; I caught you staring at Eren's ass so spill it. What was going on with you two back there? You don't really stare at anyone's ass usually and I know you don't stand this close to others either, but damn was he standing close to you. I smell the romance, I'm so excited for you." 

"Jesus, do you even breathe?" Levi couldn't help but ask as his eyes traveled towards the aforementioned picture. 

Shit. 

He didn't even remember consciously doing this and of course Hanji just had to capture that one exact moment in a photo. He'd try to deny it but his gaze was just a bit too obvious. 

He was clearly staring, just as Hanji had said, at the boy's ass. Not above it, not below it, and at nothing behind it. 

Right at that ass which he guessed really wasn't too bad of an ass.

Only to mentally slap himself for that thought a mere moment later. 

"What the fuck Hanji? Now I can't even move around freely without surveillance from you?" 

"Nope," she agreed with him. 

"Well whatever thoughts you're having in that head of yours, you're wrong. The damn kid is like a pest or something, and I cannot stand him." 

She drew and imaginary line on the photo from Levi's eyes to Eren's ass, and verbally added a sarcastic, "'Suuure.' I guess it makes sense though. You have issued with omegas and betas are usually afraid of you and your strong smell and your killer gaze, so why not go for an alpha? I mean, it's not common, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. I'll support you through it all." 

"I don't need any support because I'm not looking for any of that, alpha or not. You're reading too many romance novels, woman," he evaded her statement as well as he could, still not really having figured out any reason for why he'd be staring at Eren's behind. 

"But whatever you say, I'm damn sure Eren would just love to see this particular photo, wouldn't he?" 

Levi couldn't help the low growl that slipped past his lips at that, "You're not showing this to him." 

Hanji only smirked knowingly, "I knew I was onto something here. But I'm sorry, this is grade A blackmail material and I'm officially using it. I want to take photos, of you and Eren together. It's a nice contrast; your skin colors and your general appearances. And that little something in the way you look at each other. I want to capture that." 

"Fuck no. You're not taking photos of us and you're onto nothing at all here. Just give me the damn photo so I can burn it instead." 

But Hanji had cleverly put it out of reach already. She laughed silently. I even have a photo of it on my phone and guess who's got Eren's number? Ten seconds, and it'll be sent." 

What annoyed the alpha even more than the threat did was another detail that had left Hanji's lips. 

"Why the fuck do you have Eren's number?" he found himself asking, sounding way too annoyed by that little fact but it was too late to stop himself now; the raven wasn't sure what it was with that sudden onslaught of possessiveness over something that wasn't his. Someone who was definitely not his, more accurately. 

Apparently, the strong emotion was easily detected in his smell because Hanji's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she started chuckling to herself like a madman, "Levi Ackerman is jealous over something so small. I never thought I'd see the day, this is just gold." 

"God, please stop talking to me. Fine. I'll ask Eren about this bullshit idea of yours and if he says no, there's nothing I can do, okay? It's not like I can force him into it." 

"Oh my God, thanks," Hanji exclaimed excitedly and wrapped her arms around Levi's torso, squeezing tightly, "I knew I could count on you." 

"Yeah sure." 

.. 

In the end, Levi stayed at Hanji's place for more than two hours. Like he usually did, he'd started cleaning up the mess in her room at some point when he wasn't able to take it anymore. That might very well be the only thing he did that day which managed to lower his stress levels a little bit. 

When the alpha was finally at home, listening to music way too loudly, he was still thinking obsessively about the situation with Eren and the many things it reminded him of - stories from the past and such included. 

What was Eren up to at that time of the day, Levi wondered. 

And as though some universal energy had managed to read his thoughts, approximately ten seconds later, his phone made a noise, and he stared at the screen only to find a message from Eren. 

A messy, messy message. 

'Levi we goffa fslk, I need to tell u a secret.'

What in the world was that supposed to mean?

'What is it?' he typed out, and sat there, waiting patiently for an answer. 

Said answer came about half a minute later. 

'Come here' the next message said, and Levi swallowed, his throat feeling dry. 

That couldn't be a good idea, now could it? 

But when had Levi ever been one to be a fan of good ideas? 

He stared at the screen and made a decision. He'd go there. And see Eren - then he could apologise and forget about his bad conscience and everything, and the other would leave his head for good.

It would be simple; a great, simple plan. It had nothing to do with the fact that his heart had started beating a little faster as soon as he'd figured out whom the message was from. 

He could do this. 

'I'll be there in fifteen minutes.' 

The raven took a deep breath, 

..

In his drunken state, Eren had somehow managed to find two more bottles of beer, and he drank them quickly, too. The fifteen minutes in which the brunette sat there, waiting, were horrible. 

Was Eren actually going to go ahead give such a big secret away to someone he barely knew? 

But Levi had already figured it out, he reminded himself. And that meant that no more damage could even be done by telling him now, in a sense. In Eren's mind at least.

Still, the brunette was scared of admitting that he was, despite all he'd said to the other, really an omega. And visiting the school illegally, too. Omegas went to different schools than alphas and betas, where they'd learn mostly stuff like cooking and housekeeping. And basic maths, too. Those were literally the last things on earth that had interested Eren though, so when he had presented at 13, he'd managed to convince his father to help him. 

Which his father, being a well-known doctor, managed to do. Although many omegas weren't as lucky as Eren and never got the chance to plan their future in the way they wanted to.

That's what the whole thing was really about. An omega wasn't supposed to really build much of a future for themselves so their dreams wouldn't conflict with their alpha's will. 

Eren honestly was so glad that this wasn't what had happened to him, and he still was incredibly thankful that his father had really managed to help him hide his secret. 

Just a few more pills than the average person, and a few bits of false information on his ID later, Eren had been able to call himself a proper alpha. 

At least that's what he'd done, and it had brought him into the exact kind of school he'd wanted to attend, which was pretty great.

He got to live his dream and learn how to be an actor, and that should be something Levi could understand if he explained it to him properly. Maybe it was the same with photography for the other. 

Hopefully this would work.

The knock on the door finally alarmed him of Levi's presence though he would have probably noticed the other's arrival sooner if it weren't for all the alcohol in his blood. Because he could definitely smell the alpha even through the closed door. He took a last sip of his beer, placing the bottle in the kitchen before stumbling in the direction of the door. 

He wasn't quite drunk enough to feel sick yet, but definitely at the stage where his ability to properly control his movements had faded into nothingness. 

That was why he might have opened the door just a little too energetically, throwing it against the wall and sending a picture flying down in the process. And that was also why he may have stumbled into the other's arms unexpectedly thanks to the loud noise of shattering glass that had surprised him. 

"Careful," Levi whisper-yelled as the brunette fell into his arms like a dead tree hitting the ground during a storm. 

"I'm sorry," the brunette drunkenly mumbled from the space near the other's chest where his head rested. God, what he would give for an excuse to keep that contact up forever. After all the stress of the fight and the obsessive over-thinking and following over-drinking afterwards, it felt almost unreal to Eren that Levi had really come back to him now. He wanted to glue himself onto the other's skin and just have him as close to himself as possible without having to pull away. 

But, his hazy mind served to remind him, Levi had specifically mentioned how weird he found it whenever Eren ended up coming too close to him, so maybe this honestly wasn't the wisest course of action. 

"Oh my God, I'm sorry I did it again," he then spoke, sounding completely overwhelmed. All he got from the alpha was a raised brow and this weird look Eren honestly couldn't place in any category. 

So instead of trying to figure that out just now, the omega quickly detached himself from the other, using all will power he could muster at the moment, which honestly wasn't much. But there was one thing at the forefront of his mind that seemed even more important than this intense physical need to rub himself against the alpha; Eren wanted to make things right between them. 

Not to make the other hate him even more. 

But Levi didn't really react to his apology, instead eyeing Eren weirdly for another moment before saying, "You smell like beer." 

"I don't know what you're- .. I mean yeah. Okay, fine. I've been drinking all afternoon. But that's not why I called you, it's just the reason I had the courage to call." 

"You didn't even call, you texted me. With like ten mistakes in five words or something," the alpha replied and.. had Levi just chuckled?

Eren must have imagined it. For sure. 

"Oh. Uh, sorry. Again," the brunette said as he couldn't help but let his eyes roam over the taller boy's face. He looked tired, very much so. But as unfair as it was, apparently not even that managed to make the raven any less attractive. 

Eren, on the contrary, had been told he looked like a zombie when tired quite often so far. 

Their eyes met then, and Eren's heart honestly stopped for a second or two when grey met green. 

"Eren, stop apologising so much," the taller of the two began, looking away then. A second of silence followed. 

"I wanted to apologise to you. I was being unfair yesterday and although I do not appreciate being lied to, you probably have your reasons. I shouldn't have said any of that." 

Eren was speechless. 

Honestly petrified; what had just happened? 

He'd been so ready to beg for the other's forgiveness that he wasn't sure how to react now that the alpha had instead apologised to him. And it had sounded honest, too. 

'Oh God, stop it, heart!' 

Eren's body was betraying his excitement over the fact that Levi had cared enough to apologise to him in all the wrong ways apparently. 

"It's uh, fine? You want to come in?" 

As he stepped aside to let the other in, standing on his shaky legs and leaning against the wall, the omega could swear his face must be tomato red and Levi would probably be able to hear his heartbeat through his clothes if it was quiet enough. 

That's how fast the damn thing was beating again. 

And Eren still wanted to rub himself against the other's body as he led him to the living room, pulling a chair from underneath the desk. "I'll just make sure to get all the glass off the floor before anything happens, do you want anything to drink?"

But before he got away, a pale hand on his wrist stopped the omega, and his whole body felt like he'd been struck by lightning. By instinct, he wanted nothing more than for the other to grab Eren like that wherever he wanted and manhandle him as much as he plea- 

The brunette took a deep breath, trying to snap out of it half successfully. 

.. 

Levi eyed the brunette, all unsteady legs and alcohol smell, for a moment before he decided that Eren definitely wouldn't be picking up any glass from the floor right now. Not as long as he was here with him. 

Without further thought, he reached out for the boy's wrist and ignored the meaningful tightening of seemingly every muscle in the brunette's body that the simple movement resulted in. 

Eren's wrist was warm, even through his sleeve. 

And Levi had to make sure he didn't concentrate on the fact that he was touching the other too much. He needed to distract himself in some way. 

Eren's pupils looked dilated, and his voice came out unsteady, "What're you doing?"

It was easy to push Eren on the chair Levi had previously been sitting on. 

 

"I'm making sure your drunk ass won't accidentally kill himself or something, kid." 

"I'm not that drunk," the brunette defended himself whinily, "and why do you keep calling me kid? You can't be much older than me." 

"Because you keep proving to me that you're, at least mentally, still a kid. When you open your mouth, you know? Now stay there and I'll clean up for you." 

God, why did Levi always have to end up cleaning other peoples' messes?

He went back towards the pile of glass, and suddenly Eren was behind him again; handing him a hand brush and almost tripping over his feet as he neared the alpha. He caught the drunken mess that was Eren Jäger a second before the omega managed to fall on the floor that was still coveted in shards. The brunette didn't even have shoes on. Levi honestly wasn't sure what to do with him and his thoughtless behavior. 

And now, he was in Levi's arms and smelling like heaven again. Way too fucking close to not get drowned in that smell completely.

Without thinking, Levi growled at Eren annoyedly when he realised what had just happened, "didn't I tell you to stay over there? Go to the living room and fucking sit down for a minute or two, I was not joking back there. You're not as sober as you apparently think." 

Levi knew he smelled angry, but he hadn't exactly expected for Eren to make a noise like a fucking puppy and turn his head in a way that left his neck exposed to him entirely, showing off his submission to the alpha. 

That shocked Levi into silence for a moment, and he had to clear his throat. 

Eren seemed too far gone to really snap out of it now, and Levi wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, but he made a decision nonetheless. Or, his alpha had made that decision to be more precise.

Deliberately using his pheromones to strengthen the impact of his words, he repeated his request, in a more demanding tone of voice this time, his words harsh like metal on soft skin. "Eren, get over there right now and sit down until I'm done here." 

And for whatever reason, Levi's breathing almost failed him as he saw the other eagerly follow his order, detaching himself from Levi easily and giving him the weirdest look of all before his shaky legs carried him back to where he'd come from. Just like that.

Levi held the hand brush in his hand still, his fingers turning white from the pressure he unconsciously applied. 

There was something oddly satisfying about how easily Eren had submitted to him just now, and even the act of cleaning the glass of the other's floor didn't seem to do much for his nerves. It was scary just how much he'd acted on instinct just seconds ago. 

Why did he always seem to fuck things up with the omega somehow? He blamed it on that damn smell and the fact that for whatever reason, Eren always ended up practically centimetres apart from Levi.

The raven's monochrome eyes took in the family portrait that had fallen down, and he couldn't help but notice the similarities between Eren and his mother. Their faces were practically one and the same, gentle and yet determined. 

He set the photo down on the wooden shelf beside him after a few seconds of staring at a younger Eren and his parents, and proceeded to transport the broken glass into the trash can, his blood still pumping through his veins quite fast, and Eren's smell lingering in his nose.

He and Eren really did have quite a bit to talk about, didn't they?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone (:   
> it's really late and I'm really tired, but at the same time I really wanted to get this chapter posted tonight, so be warned, there might be some mistakes in there, I'll try to read through it as soon as possible and correct them. 
> 
> Also, I keep saying this but thanks for reading this and taking your time to comment and give kudos and everything.. Just thanks, you guys are awesome (:

Eren wasn't so sure what exactly was happening to him anymore. As if he'd ever been.

Somewhere in the daze that the alcohol and his hormones had put him in, the boy had lost control over himself yet again- and quite obviously, this time. Worse yet, he didn't feel like this whirlwind of conflicting desires would stop anytime soon; not with Levi still in his apartment. Not when the other's scent had almost knocked him out a minute or two ago. 

Not when a single order from the raven was all it had taken for Eren to lose it completely and, without further thought, present his neck to the other like that. 

In the way only an alpha could possibly make an omega react to his proximity; a willing omega, more specifically.

Eren himself was barely as willing as his omega, though. But somehow, that didn't seem to matter much. His body was doing what it wanted, and he was the one who'd be forced to deal with the consequences of his brainlessly horny behavior. 

He was so fucked, honestly. How in the world had he gone from successfully pretending to be an alpha to almost jumping someone -an actual alpha- just because of their smell? 

Okay, so maybe it wasn't just the smell alone. Levi was pretty damn attractive in an unconventional way with his sharp features and murderous eyes. 

 

The omega could recall it in a worryingly detailed fashion. That downright unamused, unquestionable look he had been given. And like the obedient boy he usually wasn't, Eren had followed the others command thoroughly, and left the other behind, closing the door behind himself.

Once his drunk legs had carried him here, Eren had simply sunk to the floor, knees giving in as a silent noise had left his lips. 

And Eren still couldn't believe it. 

Both the way Levi had acted and he had reacted replayed in his mind like a black and white movie scene that repeated itself over and over. He didn't seem to understand the plot though. Nothing made sense at all, and yet it all did. 

It wasn't like Eren was completely oblivious to the fact that his omega had taken a liking to Levi of all people. His intoxicated mind could comprehend that much.

That didn't mean that he as a person appreciated that little fact, though. He really wasn't so sure he was ready to even consider the option of pursuing the other in any way.

Not that he was really thinking about that, or was he? 

'Why do you have to be gone now of all times, dad?' Eren wondered silently, staring into empty space as his thoughts went back to the raven.

He could easily recall how overwhelmed he'd been in Levi's arms, it was almost like he'd been drowning. 

Unwillingly, he thought back to how Levi's alpha had shown himself to Eren for a moment finally when he'd ordered the omega around like it was second nature to him. And it was. 

At least Eren wasn't the only one affected by his secondary gender anymore. 

And a part of him wanted to be annoyed by the fact that the raven had, in fact, in Eren's own home, ordered him around like a useless child. But there was another part of him that was currently on the forefront of his mind; and that part was excited to no end. 

Having lived for so many years without ever making the same experiences others his age had already made long ago, the whole thing was just so new to Eren that he couldn't help but feel intrigued by it, somehow. 

And at the same time, that curiosity scared the brunette to no end. 

Because he'd never allowed himself to let his mind stray in that general direction. 

Eren shouldn't be so focused on this.

And yet, when Eren felt Levi's presence as he entered the room after what felt like an eternity, having seemingly finished his cleaning, his mind was instantly going down that very same path once again. He could practically feel his cheeks turn red in the very instant that he remembered his behavior from earlier.

The boy honestly wished he'd drunk a little less. 

Or enough to simply black out instead of losing all control over his life in every aspect. 

It wasn't only his head though that was a mess.

For whatever reason, the brunette's skin suddenly began to feel weird, and he stroked his own arm softly, noticing that goosebumps were covering his skin although it wasn't cold at all in his apartment. He could only assume that it had to do with the pheromones that polluted the air. 

Levi's steps came closer to the boy, and Eren couldn't help it, his heartbeat picked up and he took a deep breath in. And out. 

The deep breaths did nothing to calm him down though, his mind instead becoming even more focused on the alpha that was so close to him. 

Eventually, the raven sat down on the chair beside him, and yet much too far away somehow. Eren sat on the floor still, and he felt like a puddle at the raven's feet.

Eren wasn't sure what to expect. 

Would Levi call him out on his behavior once more, or just drop instead?

For a short while, Levi just stared Eren down, and although the smaller of the two did his best to hold the eye contact at first, he eventually had to look away, heat burning in his cheeks uncomfortably. Why in the world did those flashes of grey have such an impact on Eren's whole being, just like that? 

It was alarming, honestly. 

Eren seriously wished he had something there to keep his hands busy with, because his nervousness was threatening to choke him.

"Hell, would you calm down? You smell as if you expect me to murder you or something."

That had Eren's eyes widening, and he covered his face stupidly, mumbling to himself, "oh, fuck me."

"What was that?" 

"Is my smell honestly that.. strong?" the brunette asked instead of answering the question, looking through his fingers. 

"Honestly? Yeah. The whole fucking room smells like distressed omega.. Perhaps the whole floor by now. Which kind of reminds me of the fact that you had something to tell me?" Levi asked with a raised brow.

And there was that stare again, Levi's eyes capturing Eren's with their intensity. It somehow reminded Eren of the feeling of staring into the sky at night. A certain feeling he couldn't name if he tried, but it was there all the same. 

Or maybe he was just beginning to lose it entirely. That seemed like an entirely plausible case too, because when he opened his mouth to answer, it took him a good 20 seconds of stumbling over his words before he gave up trying, feeling like he was about to cry. Now he'd even lost the ability to speak? 

It was honestly pathetic.

He'd just never thought he'd share that secret with anyone, and with someone he barely knew nonetheless. Not that he had much of a choice, though. 

Levi just sent him a look that Eren quickly translated as 'You're doing it again, didn't I just tell you that you're already smelly enough?', and it honestly didn't do much to help the emotionally charged brunette. It wasn't like he smelled that way on purpose, and the harder he tried to fight against his omega, the worse everything seemed to get. 

But then the weirdest thing happened and transported Eren right into the clouds mentally, because all of a sudden, the weight of his emotions seemed to be lifted of his shoulders.

It was like floating; not giving a damn about his worries anymore.

That wasn't something he had ever experienced in such an way. He wasn't sure whether it was intentional or not, but the alpha's scent had changed to a breathtakingly new level of amazing, softer, like medicine for a sore throat. And if it was medicine, then it sure as hell was doing its job.

Eren couldn't get enough of that scent; the feelings it provoked in him.

It was as though it had been made specifically for the omega to bathe in and forget the whole outside world. 

There was only that smell; that fascinating person in front of him. Levi. He felt intoxicated by the alpha, and there was too much distance between them. 

Right in that moment, there was nothing but Levi in Eren's vision, his eyes focused on the other's jawline and his neck once again. He'd never known a fucking jawline could even possibly look hot. Maybe he'd have to rethink that, though. 

Thoughts of what Levi's skin might taste like wouldn't leave him alone.

All the cells that made up Eren's body were raging inside him, urging him to finally get closer and stop holding himself back from doing what he knew he really wanted. 

To touch and to smell the alpha; to taste and feel him, and to be consumed in return.

His body was aching for all of that, and much more unspeakable things, too. 

.. 

 

Levi eyed Eren with a bit of concern, taking in the way those small hands seemed so restless, and the fact that the boy seemed incapable of answering his simple question. 

It was pitiful in a way; and Levi couldn't stand to see the brunette in such a state of distress. Because he knew that if it weren't such a big deal to the green-eyed omega, then he wouldn't have such a hard time trying to find the right words and open up. 

He had no clue what he would do if the kid suddenly started crying or something. 

Eren was scared, and Levi couldn't seem to stand that thought, no matter the amount of indifference he attempted to put forward. 

Before he'd fully realised it, Levi had already acted on instinct and began to change his own scent into one that was meant to calm the other down. It was a natural thing some alphas did for their partners in bad situations; it helped them protect not only the other's body but their mental state along with it.

While a smell as potent as Levi's had an effect on almost anyone, there were clear differences between the ways in which people reacted. 

Some might just find it uncomfortable, especially other alphas. Betas might not even notice it that much... but it was widely known that omegas were most likely to react to pheromones; and that seemed to prove itself true in the way Eren's eyelids dropped lower, pupils wide like the moon as his eyes found Levi's. 

Eren looked almost as if he'd been drugged, but the smell of distress that had surrounded him before quickly faded into a more subdued one; a mixture of both their smells that seemed to work together surprisingly well, Levi couldn't help but notice. 

He wouldn't admit that, ever.

Although it might not seem like a big deal, it certainly was one to him. Because in some way, Eren's scent seemed to affect him, too. 

Or maybe it wasn't the smell. 

Maybe there was something about the sight of Eren Jäger as he started slowly crawling towards Levi on all fours like a damn cat. The alpha could see the way Eren's muscles moved underneath his clothes, and the slight curve of his back that was accentuated by shadows; the sun had begun to set. 

And Eren looked like he was glowing when that warm light met his soft skin and silky, yet messy dark brown hair. 

It wasn't natural for anyone to look this stunning, really. Breathing had suddenly become a whole lot harder, just thanks to the sight.

The situation was getting out of control and there was not a damn thing in the world Levi could make himself do to prevent this from happening. Or maybe that was just a shitty excuse. He felt almost as out of it as the other looked, and the air between them was thick; heavy. 

Gravity seemed defied as Eren weightlessly lifted himself up from the floor, eyeing the alpha with dark, lidded eyes as his hands came to rest on Levi's legs, one on each. 

Levi was unable to react in any way, shocked by that sudden touch. He just sat there, trying to keep his breathing in check. It was the opposite of easy though, since Eren had already advanced, practically climbing the alpha like a mountain, eventually kneeling down on the chair, one leg on each side, and almost falling off it in the process.

Before that could happen though, those tanned arms were quick to search for something to hold onto, and apparently the boy's choice was made a second later, his hands digging into the the alpha's back like it was their rightful place to be.

"You smell so good," the brunette said dreamily, his whole body leaning into that muscled chest, head disappearing in his neck. Eren's movements were slow, and pretty uncoordinated, but something about that, Levi couldn't deny he found intriguing. Somehow, those drunk movements and the heavy intakes of breath; they were something Levi didn't find half as disgusting as he wished he would. 

He couldn't stop himself from thinking about how much he wanted to frame some of that certain something this boy possessed in a photo so he could stare at it secretly.

Eren's words only truly seemed to reach his brain now, about twenty seconds after he'd spoken. In the meanwhile, the brunette had already made himself comfortable, sighing softly as he clung to the alpha. 

And for a second, he wanted to throw Eren off him and make a run for it. Never once stepping another foot in here. Not allowing any omega into his life, ever again. 

He was already letting too much of this happen; he needed to keep himself in check. 

"And you smell like you're horny as fuck, possibly even in heat and really drunk, kid. Don't do anything you'll regret tomorrow," those words were hard to get out, but Levi knew that if he didn't stop this soon, there would be no going back. 

And he wasn't going to be that guy who slept with someone who'd had a few too many to drink.

Briefly, he wondered whether the brunette was even still a virgin. Although he had no right at all to feel that way, the thought that he might not be anymore didn't settle well with him. Which wasn't good, because he was being possessive over something that wasn't his. 

It was a typical alpha thing, really. 

But looking like that, and behaving like that, there was no way no one else had been with Eren before. 

A fist bumped into his chest without much force, but it did cause the alpha to stare down into those green oceans that were Eren's eyes, all his attention on him. "Yeah, fine. And it's all thanks to you and your stupid scent and my stupid body that won't stop doing this thing whenever you're around." 

Levi made a face, one eyebrow pulled up in question, "what thing?"

..

Eren's face was red as a tomato as he kneeled there on Levi's legs, fighting the desire to rub himself against him in any way imaginable. He had quite a few ways in mind, honestly. 

But he was still consciously fighting that part of himself, biting his lower lip anxiously to distract himself from the warmth in his lower regions. 

"You know exactly what kind of thing I'm talking about. The damn omega thing. Ever since my pills stopped working, I've been trying my best not to lose my mind over this completely. You have no idea what it's like - it's as though I'm going crazy. I smell everything so clearly, and it's like I'm starved of physical touch. And then, you're there and I honestly think this sounds creepy, but it's like this inner voice keeps yelling at me to finally get closer to you, because I know that you can help me feel better," He'd lost himself somewhere in that little rant, and although he honestly hadn't wanted to say that much, there was only so much the omega could take before it all needed to get out somehow; he'd always been like that. 

"Why don't you just go to a doctor like any other person would, then?" Levi asked, pushing a lock of hair away from one green eye and to the side. His touch was incredibly soft, and if Eren was a kitten he surely would have purred. 

How was everything he did so hypnotising to Eren? 

Levi's eyes suddenly widened, and the hand dropped down.

The omega struggled to answer, the words coming out a little breathless, "My father, he's a doctor. I can't go to anyone but him for it, but he's not home for the next week or so. If any other doctor found out, my ID would be changed from being an alpha to an omega and I'd be kicked out of school, and probably in a lot of trouble for lying about it, too..." 

Maybe he imagined it, but it at least seemed to Eren that Levi understood just how weird this situation was for him; how stressful and full of uncertainties. 

 

"... And right now, the worst thing about this is that I'm sitting on top of you, and you're still trying to push me away. Is there something wrong with me?" 

The last part, he maybe should have kept to himself. 

Probably. Because telling the other about his self-doubt made the issue seem too damn real. And that hurt, because some part of him was deeply convinced of the fact that he was to blame for the other's lack of reaction. 

He'd never wanted to be that kind of omega, basing all of his identity and worth on his ability to make an alpha want him. 

But for the moment, he couldn't bring himself to care about whether or not he was being irrational. 

He was still sitting on the other, straightening his back so they were at eye level. How Eren admired those eyes, and their ability to make time stop around him whenever he lost himself in that light blue, stormy color. 

There was conflict to be seen in them, and eventually Levi sighed. 

"You're such a fucking kid, you know that?" he chuckled, and Eren didn't find the joke in this. "You have any idea what it's like for an alpha to have an omega sitting on them like that? Apparently not, because if you didn't want me to fucking jump you like an animal, then you wouldn't test my patience like this." 

Those words had Eren shivering as their meaning sank in. 

He wanted to test his luck, and his lids dropped as he moved closer to Levi yet again, a blush on the omega's cheeks when he spoke, "maybe I do want you to jump me like an animal." 

When the words had left his lips, he invaded the alpha's personal space again, a moan spilling past soft lips as he angled his head towards the raven's neck, impatient to finally taste that pale skin. 

He could hear the alpha swallow, could see his Adam's apple move, and his muscles tense up as the omega's warm breath played with his skin. 

And when his lips finally settled on the other's skin, his tongue coming out to taste it, Eren couldn't help the moan that he let out. Levi tasted incredible to him; human in all the perfect ways, and yet so otherworldly that it was worrying. It was perfection, honestly, and over way too soon. 

Levi had his hand tangled in the mess of brown hair, and he'd pulled his head back easily. Eren expected a slap to the face or an insult. 

What he didn't expect was for Levi to assault the omega's skin instead, violently and yet in the exact right way. He didn't waste much time, placing a pathway of open-mouthed kisses from the boy's collarbone up towards his jaw. Those touches were magic; it was the only explanation for the feelings they evoked inside Eren. 

And there was no way for him to stay quiet, honestly. He'd tried for the first five seconds maybe, to hold himself back verbally. But when one long moan had made its way out of his mouth, followed by a breathless, 'Oh my God, yes,' Levi had seemed more pleased than anything, his movement becoming even more eager, and his kisses begging to include small bites that had Eren's pulse racing. 

 

Everything about this had his pulse racing, honestly. His smell was getting stronger by the second, and his underwear was beginning to feel wet already. 

What was Levi doing to him? 

A particularly harsh bite on the skin below his ear had Eren whimpering out a broken version of Levi's name, his hands digging into the raven's back. 

Eren was offering himself up to the older of the two, each and every movement, each sound, a plea for Levi to keep touching him. To keep giving Eren his attention. 

For Levi to take control over him. 

And when he kissed his way back up to the brunette's jawline, the omega honestly hadn't expected for the kisses to go any further than that. 

He hadn't expected for those lips to collide with his, or for how entirely right this felt in every sense of the word. 

Due to his lack of experience, Eren's movements were clumsy, shy replies to Levi's more practiced movements. At first it was only their lips that were touching, but with one bite carefully placed in Eren's lower lip, Levi had the other opening his mouth instinctively, opening himself up the the alpha, and allowing his tongue inside his mouth. 

Never had Eren kissed anyone like that before, but his body was getting too worked up for him to even doubt what he was doing. Heart racing and thoughts a blurry mess, he put all of his eagerness into that kiss, trying as best as he was able to, to please the other with what he was doing. 

Their tongues played with one another, Levi's entering his mouth and exploring it like it was the most interesting thing in the world to him. 

Eren honestly was positively shocked that Levi, being someone who didn't seem too open about emotions, could even kiss someone like this. It was as though there were a thousand things being exchanged by the simple action of kissing. 

When Eren's breathing became too heavy, his chest rising and falling rapidly, Levi pulled away from him, staring into Eren's eyes yet again. 

Only this time, they were just as destroyed looking as his, pupils wide and eyes lidded, half in trance. 

Their smells had began to surround the two of them, creating an intense mixture that was devilishly addicting to the omega. 

After a few breaths, he tried to lean in for another kiss, only to be stopped by the hand still holding his head. 

"Stop right there, we can't do this."

There it was again, that crushing feeling of pain deep inside Eren's being. 

He'd been so sure that Levi had enjoyed it too, but maybe that wasn't the case at all. What if the kiss had been the final straw for the alpha to decide that Eren was a lost cause, unfit to ever become his mate.

"What do you mean? Why?" he asked, wide-eyed and ready to burst into tears any moment. 

"Because this isn't going to work out. We'd just end up hurting each other and that's-" 

A silent noise broke through the alpha's words, causing him to stop. 

The smell that they had created together was being overshadowed by a distressed, sad scent, but Eren couldn't stop it. Of course this had to happen. 

Of course he'd get no more than two minutes of happiness before it all was over again. 

Of course he'd be crying after his first kiss.

Of course Levi didn't really want him. 

"You're crying," Levi commented thoughtlessly, and Eren's only answer was to continue crying, some tears getting stuck in his lashes and others flowing down his face freely. 

Levi didn't say anything else either, but a moment later Eren recognised the smell from earlier, the one that had made him drowsy and empty-minded.

And although Levi was the very reason for his tears in a sense, he couldn't help but let himself collapse against the other, shoulders still shaking as he began to calm down somewhat, surrounded by the alpha's pheromones like they were a warm blanket. 

"Look, I'm sorry this just happened. I don't want to take advantage of you or anything, that's the last thing I want, and I think you need some sleep, you look tired as hell, Eren." 

The mention of his name had Eren breathless for a second, before he moved even closer to the alpha, who in turn grabbed the boy's back, and proceeded to stand up from the chair. As though he wasn't carrying another person. Still in somewhat of a daze thanks to the alpha, Eren barely noticed that he was being carried, but his legs automatically wrapped themselves around the alpha's waist nonetheless. 

The next thing he knew, he was placed on his bed carefully, and Levi wrapped his fluffy blanket around the brunette. Although the warmth was nice, it also meant that he wasn't resting his head on Levi's collarbone anymore, and that caused a frustrated noise to leave the boy's lips. 

"Don't go away, please, " Eren found himself begging, only half aware of his words.

"It's almost 8, I need to go home at some point," Levi answered, his tone weird. 

"It's Saturday, so just stay here. Sleep here with me, you look tired too," Eren tired his best to convince him. He wasn't ready for Levi to leave his side just yet. 

His inner omega was going insane just thinking about that. 

"I don't think that's a good-" 

"Please please please don't say it's a bad idea. I'm not going to do anything weird, I promise. I just like your smell, and your body is warm, warmer than mine. Think of it like a normal sleepover, nothing else. I'll owe you one."

Levi raised a brow. "God, you're always talking so much nonsense," the raven complained, but still sat down on the mattress and began untying his shoes orderly. The brunette had honestly expected the other to put up more of a fight.

Eren watched him, before taking his own jacket off and tossing it aside along with his jeans, leaving him in only his shirt and his boxers. 

Before he had a chance to watch Levi take off his clothes though, the alpha had stood up and turned the lights off. Eren could hear him undress himself, but he attempted his best not to let his mind wander, the joy of knowing that he'd managed to convince Levi enough for now. 

He felt like a child that got exactly what it had wanted for its birthday. 

"Make some space, then," Levi commanded and Eren moved away, lying on his side. "At least your mattress isn't too shitty." 

Eren couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that, taking it as a compliment. 

"Thanks for staying the night," he said and within about two minutes, he'd cuddled up to a silently complaining Levi, and fallen asleep with his head right beside the other's and their legs entangled. All of Eren's worries were practically nonexistent for those few moments before sleep took a hold of him, as he simply enjoyed the very presence of the person so close to him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone!  
> sorry this is a bit late, and thanks once more to all you lovely people who read this, your comments and kudos motivate me so much, and I'll try to reply to more comments, I'm just horrible at those things but.. yeah. 
> 
> Here's another chapter, enjoy hopefully! (:

"Stop moving for one damn second, I'm trying to open those fucking buttons," Levi growled out menacingly, and the brunette couldn't help but comply, following the demand and falling back down into the mattress, detaching himself from the raven much to his dislike. He'd been restlessly kissing the alpha's neck and chest, tasting and touching this pale skin that he practically worshiped, and enjoying every second of it.

He wanted nothing more than to be overwhelmed by the other's touch, by their closeness. By Levi's warmth.

Feeling such a strong desire to explore every inch of the older boy's body, it was hell being told to stay still and wait until those damn buttons were finally open. 

They couldn't be open soon enough for Eren. 

But instead of being quick about it, the alpha took his sweet time admiring the brunette, taking in every detail he could, both his body and face, before he even began to open the buttons slowly, one by one. It was as though Levi was trying to torture him on purpose, really. And maybe he was, judging by that damn smirk on the pale face.

By the time the final button came undone, both their eyes focused on each other, Eren could barely hold himself back from shivering or openly begging for something - anything - more than this.

Patience had never exactly been a strength of his, obviously. 

"Touch me," he demanded with a soft but somewhat firm voice, "please Levi." 

Thanks to some miracle, his words seemed to do the trick, because he could visibly see the other tense up above him in the barely existent light, his muscles hard and his body so beautiful, it felt almost sinful to look at it at all.

Oh, he wanted to do much more than just look at it though. 

Those traveling green eyes were forced in the direction of Levi's hand as the unthinkable happened and he finally, after what felt like an eternity, complied to Eren's wishes, sliding the shirt down, his hands traveling across Eren's stomach as Levi knocked the air right out of the omega with yet another kiss. He took his time running his fingers along the outlines of Eren's ribs, and it felt like torture and reward at the same time to the omega who just laid there, breathless underneath the others' touches and sucking in a mouthful of air harshly every now and then. 

Eren's skin was sensitive like he'd never experienced it before, and he was slowly losing it, crumbling underneath those touches like an abandoned building that was falling apart. Not just the touches though; the look in those stormy grey eyes was just as forceful as the feeling of those strong hands on him.

Eren was hypnotized, willing to give everything he had to the other, no questions asked.

And apparently, the offer wasn't unappreciated, because the alpha finally stopped it with his gentle touches, crashing down on the boy's face in a bruising kiss and forcing the last sane thoughts right out of both their heads in the process. The kiss gave away the primal sense of need that the raven apparently felt for the omega, and that one silly fact seemed to cause a hurricane inside the boy's chest, a whirlwind of emotions flooding him as he thought about what this might possibly mean for a second only to come up with no conclusion. 

Did Levi really feel this way towards him; and if so, did he feel like that about Eren or did Levi's alpha simply feel that way about Eren's omega? Was he misreading the alpha's actions here?

Because there was a difference between those two things, clearly. 

Eren was honestly in no state of mind to think about anything much, though. He was trying to do his best to keep up with Levi's hungry kisses, refusing to give in completely. Their movements became wilder after a short while, the brunette instinctively grabbing that muscular back and pulling the alpha even closer to him as though they weren't right on top of each other already. But it still wasn't nearly enough.

He now more than ever wanted to drown in the alpha completely. 

It was as though Levi could read his mind, because those pale fingers quickly found their way back up to Eren's chest, playing with his nipples and causing his nails to scratch the alpha's back quite roughly whenever he pinched them playfully, causing Eren to arch his back and let out a waterfall of noises that the boy had never heard himself make before. Then, their lips were busy with each other again, their mouths were still fighting for dominance as Levi started scratching his nails up and down Eren's stomach roughly, encouraged by the view in front of him.

Each time they traveled in the downwards direction, a gasp involuntarily broke through their kiss, and Eren was honestly shocked to see himself reply so eagerly; he was totally desperate but not necessarily in a bad way. 

It was just strange; how he was discovering this entirely different, new side of himself, all thanks to Levi.

"Where do you want me to touch you?" 

The brunette wasn't so sure whether it was the voice or maybe the words, but whatever the case, his desire to downright jump Levi like an animal and have the raven haired alpha pound into him was getting so much worse by the second. It was worrying, really. 

And now, he was afraid his voice would fail him if he tried to answer. 

He tried nonetheless, and was about as unsuccessful as he'd hoped he wouldn't be, "I- I want you to,.. uh," he began, his tone uncertain, and he wasn't so sure he would even be able to say out loud just where he wanted to feel the alpha's touch most. 

So instead of awkwardly trying to find the proper words, the omega grabbed the other's larger hand, guiding it way down his body, his cheeks flushed and pupils wide like the full moon in the sky.

Their eyes were still locked, but Eren's vision was slowly becoming blurry, and he just didn't have it in him to focus on anything anymore. 

As soon as Levi's hand had made its way towards the boy's underwear, Eren eagerly shoved the annoying piece of clothing down with his other hand, lifting his back upwards so it didn't get stuck underneath him. 

"Please," he begged with his mind half gone, lifting his hips up further and moaning loudly when Levi's fingers cupped his ass, grabbing the soft skin and squeezing it enthusiastically. With his legs parted like that and his hormones running wild inside his blood, Eren couldn't help but become even more impatient, wanting to finally feel the other inside him more than he wanted anything else in the world. 

"I want your fingers inside me," he mumbled into the raven's neck shamelessly, moving his hips to emphasise his words and pressing his dick into the raven's hand.

The alpha growled like a wild animal, and before Eren finally realised that it was truly happening, one of the taller boy's hands was already down there, toying around with the wetness between his legs, ignoring the rock hard erection in favor of creating obscene noises as he toyed around with the omega's drippig entrance. Eren honestly didn't mind much though, his entire body screaming loudly at him that it needed the alpha deep inside of him; he wanted desperately for Levi to claim him as his and be just as into it as Eren was.

The omega's body was shaking, his breathing more than unsteady and his heart wild inside of his chest, like a violent, caged animal.

And then, without any further teasing, the alpha slid one of his fingers inside of him, making an even bigger wreck out of the already breathless boy. 

"Levi," he moaned forlornly, rocking his hips forward.

"Shit," Levi hissed above him, his pupils wide and eyes lidded. 

"Just... move, please," Eren begged pitifully, rocking his hips eagerly against the finger that was still not entirely enough for him, but nevertheless made him feel incredibly good already. He honestly wasn't very nervous about this for some reason; or perhaps he was just too eager to put too many thoughts into it. 

And that's when Levi did move, pulling his finger out and adding another just a second later, only to push two back in recklessly, making Eren moan like a mindless mindless mess underneath him yet again. 

Levi didn't seem to be doing much better in term of self control though. The alpha's breathing was just as heavy, his gaze unfocused as he explored Eren's body from inside.

Said body was trying its best to guide the other's fingers deeper inside, rocking back and forth with enthusiasm like he'd done this a million times before. He had his eyes closed tightly, too overwhelmed to look into those stormy eyes anymore. Each well placed thrust of the alpha sent a wave of pleasure through his veins, and the omega's nails eventually started to sink into the other's back, holding onto the alpha tightly as they moved in sink, accompanied by the brunette's sounds. Their smells were getting mixed up in perhaps the most intense way of all, and nothing felt quite real anymore. 

At the same time, everything felt so damn real. 

Eren had never expected for this to feel so damn good; to give into his needs and open himself up to the other like this. 

Everything felt right for once, his body warm and his mind at ease, lost in some faraway place that only Levi could possibly show him, no one else. 

Perhaps it was the fact that this felt so utterly right to the omega, or something else, but when Levi's face came close to his once again, he couldn't help but open his hazy eyes, his cheeks rosy as he regarded the alpha with a curious expression on his face.

With their eyes locked, Levi moved his fingers again on purpose, and made the boy gasp, his cheeks burning as he tried to keep his eyes open, but it was getting harder by the second not to get lost in what they were doing. 

"You look so damn beautiful, I.. I want you to be mine. Let me have you, Eren," the alpha spoke, his eyes full of both hunger and appreciation, and his voice sounding strained from holding himself back, most likely. 

Those words however, basically had Eren hypnotised, and he feared for a moment that he might be having a heart attack or something of that sort. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind, how heavy the meaning of those words truly was, and just what he'd be agreeing to if he said yes to this. To Levi. 

"I.." Eren began, his cheeks a deep red, contrasting nicely with his green eyes. The omega bit his lower lip in nervousness before he continued, "I'm yours." 

In order to prove that he meant what he was saying, the brunette finished his statement by baring his neck to the older boy, staring into those cold eyes as he positioned himself in a way that would allow the alpha all the access he needed. 

It wasn't like Eren had ever put particularly much thought into finding a mate or tying himself to another person like that, but now as he was about to let it happen, he felt as though it was all he had ever waited for, like a piece of a puzzle finally falling into place for him. 

He wanted nothing more than for Levi to bury his teeth into his neck as deep as he pleased, and let Eren carry the resulting scar around, screaming to the whole world that he belonged to someone. Not just someone though; that he belonged to Levi, every inch of his body, and every bit of his soul. 

That he was Levi's omega, and no one else's. 

It all happened really fast then, and suddenly Levi's mouth finally was on Eren's skin, his breath incredibly warm and his smell divine to Eren as their skin touched.

And without wasting a second, the raven did just what the other asked him to, pressing one short kiss to the boy's neck before he sank his teeth into that soft skin, and that's when Eren lost it once again, moaning a mess of words that ranged from curses to broken moans to unrecognisable versions of Levi's name. 

His entire body seemed to be in some sort of trance almost, but he instinctively pulled the other's head even closer to his sensitive skin, causing the raven to bite him more harshly this time, and the pain only served to make Eren's moans sound even more obscene, his soft voice rough from all the heavy breathing and moaning. 

Just when he'd almost forgotten about the fingers still inside him, Levi once again toyed around with him, making a sudden, rough movement inside of the boy's tight ass.

"Nnh, fuck-", the omega moaned, his voice restless and his neediness only getting worse thanks to the feelings the other was causing inside of him, "Fuck me, ahh, alpha." 

...

Apparently, Eren was the kind of person to talk in his sleep. Or rather than talk, the boy was only making soft noises in the beginning.

They became more frequent as Eren seemed to enter a deeper stage of sleep.

At least he wasn't pressed against the alpha anymore. The boy had turned around at some point, half his body underneath the blanket and the other half above it. It had taken barely a few minutes until Eren had been out cold, his chest rising and falling peacefully as he slept. 

Levi himself hadn't been able to fall asleep quite as easily, and so he'd just stayed beside the sleeping boy, watching his face go through all sorts of expressions as he softly mewled from time to time, making the raven wonder just what he might be dreaming of; although the noises the other made gave him somewhat of an idea, perhaps.

Despite the fact that the alpha didn't quite want to admit it, there was something incredibly fascinating and satisfying about seeing those soft lips opened the tiniest bit, and this tanned face completely relaxed except for the few expressions the boy made. Since Eren was sleeping, he could literally stare at the boy in the moonlight for as long as he wanted, without the risk of getting caught. It was like a private show that he just so happened to have the privilege of being invited to.

Levi wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed when suddenly, his name fell from Eren's lips, in a desperate tone that undeniable did something to Levi- something he honestly didn't approve of completely; Eren did things to his sanity that couldn't be considered healthy. 

How in the world had he not left earlier? 

Why had he let Eren convince him to share a fucking bed, like it wasn't a weird thing to do at all. Like it wasn't tempting the alpha inside the raven unlike pretty much anything else he'd experienced before. 

There was a reason omegas were kept away from alphas as far as it was possible. Because even with all the self control in the world, it was nearly impossible for an alpha not to be affected by both the body and the behavior of an omega.

Thanks to whatever dream Eren was having, the whole bed seemed to be soaked in pheromones yet again, and Levi was trying hard to keep himself from moving closer to that sinful smell and that beautiful body. 

He hated how hard it was for him to simply stay away from the omega. 

It was as though fate had decided to specifically fuck with Levi, because although he didn't move closer, Eren apparently disagreed with that even in his sleeping state. 

The brunette easily rolled over, effectively managing to end up pretty much on top of the alpha, his legs wrapped around the raven's who was holding his breath, trying his hardest to distract himself, but it was kind of hard with the other's crotch practically pressed into his. 

But when the boy innocently cuddled against his chest, sighing once he'd found a comfortable position, Levi finally managed to calm down somewhat. Eren had wanted him here so he'd feel safe, presumably. There was no was Levi was going to betray the trust the boy had placed in him. 

Levi was honestly now more than ever glad to have an excellent self control like he did.

Because it allowed him to do nothing more than to wrap his arm comfortably around the brunette's neck, focusing on how amazing that simple touch felt instead of letting his body ask for more like the greedy asshole Levi knew it was.

Still, he honestly needed to fall asleep as soon as possible because even though he was a disciplined kind of person, he didn't exactly want to test his limits yet again. 

Eren had definitely done quite a bit of testing already in that aspect. 

So with his mind dead set on finally managing to go to sleep, the alpha closed his eyes and forcibly let go of all thoughts and images in his head, making his mind empty so he eventually managed to fall asleep as well, still pressed against the omega's thankfully clothed body, and breathing in the boy's smell like it was life itself. 

.. 

The door was torn open forcibly, slamming into the wall with a loud noise and causing Eren's eyes to snap open in an instant. He wasn't entirely sure where he was or what was going on, but he knew there was definitely something off. 

He quickly recognised the fact that he was not using a pillow, instead laying on top of the very alpha he'd just been dreaming about, that deliciously muscular chest amazingly close to the brunette.

He almost reached out to let his fingers slide across Levi's body.

That's when a brief flashback of the interrupted dream entered Eren's mind, and apparently he still wasn't too sober because he was getting so lost in those images that it took him another moment until his eyes actually went into the direction of the door, although reluctantly, turning to face whoever had opened that door.

That dream had felt so scarily real, and the boy couldn't help but wish that it was. All those touches had felt so realistic; and his mouth was watering at the thought of touching the alpha for real.

Either way, that dream had felt much realer than the fact that Eren's father was standing there by the door frame, looking in the direction of the bed with an expression that could only be considered one of pure shock, although anger was evident beneath that.

 

"What in the world do you think you're doing with an alpha in your bed?" the words were strict, spoken with a bitterness that Eren's foggy mind could barely catch up with. 

Come to think of it, this must be a bit of a shock to his father. Or a bit much. 

Eren had never shown any interest in alphas; thanks to the pills his father had provided him with.

Why in the world was the man even here when Eren had been told that he wouldn't be home for weeks? Why did he have to waltz in and tear him out of his dreams just like that?

Maybe Eren was really still dreaming and it wasn't reality that his father stood there in the door, the older alpha smelling more than a little pissed off. It had been a sort of unspoken rule between the two. Eren's father made sure to get him all the medication the boy needed and in return, the omega was supposed to keep his nature a secret to everyone, since it could potentially cost the doctor his job if news got out that he'd willingly faked his own son's ID, basically, claiming that he was an alpha although he was obligated not to lie about it.

And while Eren's father wasn't really mad too often, Eren could easily tell from his smell when he was. 

Eren knew that smell; Levi however didn't. 

Levi didn't know Eren's father at all, in fact.

And as if the situation didn't look bad enough to the doctor already; to find his innocent son sharing his bed with a stranger in Eren's room that reeked of hormones and alcohol, the alpha beside Eren chose that exact moment to speak up in a none too friendly tone, practically spitting his words out in an utterly protective manner, his arm tightening around the omega.

"I don't care who the fuck you are or what the hell you think you're doing in here, but you're going to leave, this fucking instant," Levi's voice came out utterly firm although he'd just woken up, and Eren could barely help but shiver at the sheer dominance in his words, although that probably really wasn't appropriate at all given the circumstances.

The only problem was, apparently Levi hadn't realised just who it was, standing over there and looking at them like he was about to give both of them a few good punches to the face.

Eren's father was an alpha too, and not exactly the kind anyone wanted as their enemy, honestly. He assumed that Levi was able to smell the anger in his father, and perhaps that was why his voice sounded even more deadly than it usually did. 

So the brunette did the only thing he could think of, squeezing Levi's hand to get his attention, and whispering harshly, albeit trying to keep his voice low, "Levi, that's.. uh, that's my father." 

Apparently those words got through to the alpha who still smelled like he was ready to fight the man though, Eren's father or not.

Eren's eyes were on Levi's as he added another few words, "please just calm down."

Before the alpha had a chance to reply, Grisha's voice addressed the brunette, leaving no room for questions. 

"Eren." 

The omega winced when his father used that commanding tone that instantly forced him to pay attention, whether he wanted to or not. 

Levi seemed to notice it too, because he silently squeezed Eren's hand this time, as if to tell him that he had his back even if he didn't know what was going on.

"You've got a lot of things to explain to me, young man. Get away from that alpha this instant."

Eren couldn't help but feel a deep sense of shame at the accusing voice his father was using with him, all the while Levi was still in the same room and hearing it all; Eren being scolded like a small child that stole a cookie. 

Eren could honestly not help but wonder whether the universe was throwing all those situations his way on purpose. He looked defeated when he finally agreed, a hollow sounding "yes, dad," leaving his soft lips as the distressed boy began to pull away from the alpha although everything inside him was screaming to stay right where he was, in the other's arms and just close his eyes again so he could go right back to dreaming.

Levi didn't look enthusiastic either as the omega pulled away, a low growling sound in his throat for a second before he caught himself and his gaze hardened on Eren's father once again. 

Eren couldn't entirely interpret Levi's behavior, but he definitely didn't seem content with the situation. 

"I'm sorry about this," Eren whispered towards Levi with an uncertain expression on his face, before he left the bed despite everything, and walked towards where his father was waiting, gesturing for the two of them to talk in the privacy of the kitchen instead. 

And Eren could swear that Levi would have simply followed the two of them, had it not been for the meaningful look he sent the alpha as he made his way outside the room, trying his best to convince the raven that everything was just fine. Although he really didn't feel so sure about that.

Now that his dad was here, it would be fine, right? Hopefully there was an easy solution to it all; another pill to swallow or a higher dosage to take in than before. 

But before that, he'd have to explain to his father just why exactly Levi had been in bed with him, and Eren knew that this was sort of a dangerous thing to talk about to his father. 

Especially when he himself could already tell that he smelled like they had been doing much more than just sleeping in that bed. Rubbing his neck where the other had bitten him in his dream, Eren tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever kind of conversation was about to happen. 

Even if he wasn't entirely sure where to even begin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks so much to everyone who reads this story! I'm always so happy to read your comments and just see people enjoy the story so.. thanks (:  
> In the next few chapters, things will finally be a bit easier for Eren and I'm honestly looking forward to that so much because he deserves a break honestly..  
> Enjoy, hopefully!

Once Eren was actually out of the room, the possessiveness raging inside Levi only seemed to worsen. The alpha knew that he was being irrational to a certain degree, but there was something about the tone Eren's father had used with him. Something that had overpowered Eren so easily, and Levi didn't like it one bit. Although Levi truly wasn't one to talk; hadn't he done the exact same thing to the omega just yesterday? 

But that was different. 

At least that's what he told himself, because unlike just now, Eren had seemed alright with Levi ordering him around. In fact, the boy had seemed almost eager to please him, his eyes sparkling in an excited way as he'd done what Levi had asked of him. But the things the other alpha had said to Eren just now, and the fact that the omega had followed his demand and left Levi's side, both of that didn't exactly sit well with Levi at all. 

Eren should have stayed by his side, and he shouldn't have gone away, no matter who was calling for him. Not when he smelled so much like Levi right now, and when he'd fit so well against the alpha's body. As if that was where he belonged, almost. 

It was only when an angry noise left his lips and he found himself rushing out of the bed and towards the door that Levi regained his senses to a certain degree, finally stopping for a second to calm down his inner alpha in order to actually think before he rushed into whatever conversation Eren was more or less unwillingly taking part in. 

Was that really a wise idea? 

Levi had pretty much fucked up already minutes ago. 

When he'd been woken up by the smell of another alpha much too close for his liking. It wasn't even that Eren's father was too close to Levi; this was about Eren. All that his brain had registered at the time was the fact that an alpha was near Eren, and nothing more.

Having just awoken, Levi had definitely not been able to show his best side to the man who found him in the bed of his son. That was the thing about self control, no matter how well you thought you had your shit together, sometimes there were those moments of weakness in between. 

Resistance was a time bomb, in a sense.

But the tiredness was slowly fading away, and being replaced by much clearer thoughts; 

Levi let his hand fall down, inhaling and exhaling deeply a few times before he was able to turn away from the door and sit back down on the bed with a sour expression on his face. 

He should have never agreed to stay the night, he realised once more. 

Eren was beginning to worm his way into his thoughts, and Levi honestly didn't appreciate it that much. Because it meant that he saw himself slowly losing his cool, beginning to behave like a possessive animal instead of the person he knew himself to be.

Eren brought that side of him out so easily, it wasn't funny anymore. 

Levi wasn't only worried about himself though; he couldn't help thinking about how Eren probably felt right now. That had been a damn awkward greeting.

But that still didn't give Eren's father the right to treat his son like he'd committed a sin, or look at him like he had.

Eren might have been full of hormones and more than slightly intoxicated; but that was it. And that was just human.

Although they hadn't done anything serious yesterday, there had still been those few instances when Levi had honestly almost lost it. He could still see it all clearly in his mind, the way Eren had reacted to Levi's pheromones so easily, his wide pupils and dreamy expression as he'd sat on top of him. 

He also remembered how Eren had clumsily kissed his neck, gazing at Levi like he was a prize to be won. He remembered even better how he had failed to keep himself in check, and let himself taste that soft skin, and what it had done to Eren's body. In that moment, he'd realised that Eren wouldn't protest, no matter what he'd wanted the omega to do. 

Eren would have easily given his body to Levi, doubtlessly. 

But Levi was honestly so glad that he hadn't abused this position of power. Still, he couldn't deny that Eren's skin had tasted heavenly to him; that he'd almost wanted to go much, much further that those rather innocent kisses. That maybe, for a brief moment, he'd wondered what sounds would have left Eren's lips had he bitten much more harshly and marked the beautiful omega as his. 

Those thoughts definitely went miles too far, though.

There was no way Levi was every going to let himself be tied to and responsible for an omega, not after he'd felt firsthand how much destruction those things caused - for both omegas and alphas. 

He needed to stop looking at Eren in this way. 

He was his project partner, nothing more and nothing less. Theoretically. 

If anything, Eren needed his father's help, and probably a few pills along with that. And once that would be out of the way, then Eren would go back to his regular self, although Levi had never even really met the properly medicated version of the boy yet, and then they could work together properly, and maybe laugh about how weird their first few encounters had been. 

He could only hope that things would end that peacefully; that Eren wouldn't randomly start disliking him once his mind wasn't clouded by hormones anymore. 

.. 

"Eren, what the hell is wrong with you? You smell like.. Just what exactly were you doing in there with that..- who is that even?" Grisha asked, his eyes narrowed and his voice hard like a brick wall.

Eren wasn't sure what to say; he didn't want to dig himself a deeper hole. 

He didn't want to admit to his father that somehow, he'd let himself pull Levi, basically a stranger, this close, and that his intentions hadn't been quite the purest either. It only really came to him now that maybe it hadn't been a good decision to call Levi and tell him to come here. 

It was still incredibly weird to the boy; how his body took control over his mind with the other around. He'd practically thrown himself at the alpha, and thanks to the alcohol he hadn't been subtle about what he'd wanted either. 

All of that was pretty scary, but another matter terrified him a whole lot more, on an entirely different level. His dream had honestly felt so incredibly real that he still felt the other's intimate touches when he concentrated on the memory. 

And he remembered how easily he had agreed when Levi had expressed that he wanted to be Eren's mate in his dream.

That was a life changing decision though; perhaps the biggest you could make in your life for some people.

They'd known each other for three days now, and having dreams like that at this stage was honestly just too much to be healthy. Eren needed to keep those thoughts away unless he wanted to fall into the abyss of uncertainty and foreign warmth that was Levi. 

Ever since they'd met, Eren had steadily become more clueless. 

Everything was spiraling out of control, and fast too.

Nothing made sense; he kept wondering just what was going on between him and Levi. Was there even anything really going on? Maybe this whole thing was still somehow one-sided in the end? 

But yesterday, Levi had kissed him. He'd pulled Eren close and he'd seemed to be into it. That had to count for something, right? 

Or was Eren just confusing his dream for reality? With the remaining alcohol he could still feel in his system, the brunette found it hard to tell.

Biting his lip, his eyes traveled in the direction of the door, knowing that the alpha was behind it. 

Eren's father cleared his throat, his gaze following his son's.

"Eren? Would you at least answer my question?" 

The brunette looked to the floor guilty, "My pills haven't been working. Levi's my friend, he came here because I was feeling anxious and he helped me calm down." 

"He helped you calm down? Judging by the way it smells in your room, he helped you with all sorts of things," Grisha answered, his tone still off, and Eren couldn't look into his eyes. At that moment, they were full of unwelcome judgement.

"He just stayed here with me and used his smell to make me feel better, that's it. Nothing happened, I swear. He didn't do anything," Eren explained, once he realised that the real emotion in his father's eyes wasn't anger as he'd initially thought. Now, it looked more like panic. 

And the guilt crashed over Eren instantly when he realised that. They both were still affected by Carla's death, although it had been a while now. How many years exactly? Eren didn't want to count. Although he knew for a fact that Grisha hadn't ever liked the fact that Eren had turned out to be a weak, basically useless omega, he knew that in some weird way, the man still cared about him. 

He didn't exactly show it with his words, but at least he was supportive of Eren when it came to his acting, although not for purely unselfish reasons. Eren knew that one of the reasons his father went through the trouble of supporting him was that he didn't want people to know. 

He wanted to make it so that people thought that his son was an alpha, mainly because it meant that he could convince himself of it too. That's why they never talked much about Eren's real secondary gender, and his father got that weird expression whenever Eren spoke about it. 

Eren remembered what his mother had once told him; how proud Grisha had been to have a son, and how much he had talked about all the things he wanted to show him in the world.

And although that scene did sound nice somehow, it was still mostly an imaginary thing; some story he'd heard from his mother. For as long as he could remember, his father had been far away from him, sharing a living space but not much more. Carla had been the one who had worked actively on making sure they spent at least some time with each other, but once she was gone, their interactions had become even stranger. 

"Eren, you can't have an alpha here. I never thought you would bring one here, with pills or without, and I damn sure hope he knows that he'll be sued the second he talks to anyone about your," he stopped for moment before changing his sentence, "about what happened." 

Eren stayed quiet, and their eyes met for a split second before the omega looked away. 

"Since when do you have problems with your pills?" Grisha changed the subject in the obvious way he usually did. 

"Since Friday." 

"What symptoms have you been experiencing?" 

There it was again, that tone that sounded so much like the man was talking to a stranger; a client or a patient. Eren kept himself from making a face, ignoring the familiarity of the feeling and answering as clearly as he could, "My senses have been working differently, and I've noticed smells much more. I've just been feeling.. pretty out of it. I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with the pills." 

His father regarded him with unreadable eyes once more, before nodding, as if he already knew what to do about this; like he didn't even need to take a closer look at things before he figured out what to do. 

"I've been working on them anyways for the last few weeks. Essentially the effects of the new pills are still the same, but some ingredients have been changed so now they should basically have a stronger effect. I'd recommend no more than one a day, because when I say that they are strong, I mean it. As far as I can tell, there shouldn't be any serious risks or side effects though." 

To this part, Eren was never sure how to react. He trusted his father's abilities as a doctor and researcher, and he was incredibly grateful to even have those pills and with them, a chance to hide his nature. That didn't mean that he enjoyed swallowing all those bitter pills though. And the thought of possible side effects was just another negative aspect to it. 

When there was once again only silence from Eren's side, his father's expression became more annoyed than before, "And Eren. Whoever that alpha 'friend' of yours is, he needs to leave. I thought you'd be more intelligent than to invite an alpha here when your medicine isn't working properly. I mean it when I'm saying that he'll be in trouble if one word gets out about you. Or if he comes too close to you again. I can smell him on you, it's everywhere on your body and I don't like it. You're my son and not just another cheap omega. Tell him to get out of here and keep his mouth shut about your secondary gender. No one was supposed to even know about this, do you know how bad this situation is?" 

When the man said that, Eren was finally provoked into reacting. He couldn't stand the way his father was telling him to keep his distance from Levi. Whether it was a good idea or not that the man was suggesting; in Eren's current state all he wanted to do was run back into the alpha's arms and stay in bed with him all day, far away from all those worries his father was putting into his head. 

Levi wasn't going to tell anyone, was he? 

He stared towards the door, reminded himself of the way Levi smelled, and that was it. The omega barely ever opened his mouth with the older man, usually opting to keep quiet instead. 

Not this time, however. 

"No, I do not know how bad this is. It's one person who knows. One person I trust who I'm not going to push away from me just because you're being paranoid again. How am I supposed to even live? I haven't had any real friendships for years, so I'm not sorry that I called a friend to come help me when I've tried calling you before only to be told you wouldn't arrive anytime soon," the words poured out of him, and it felt weird referring to Levi as a friend when he'd only known him for days. But in this case, bending the truth a bit seemed like the best option. Just when he felt he want done with his rant, another half sentence happened to slip out of the brunette's lips, "because whenever I'm really hurting, or feeling lost, you're just gone- it's just like when mom died." 

Eren hadn't meant for that last part to slip out or for his voice to become louder and louder as he spoke; he honestly hadn't. He knew that the pain of losing his wife had affected his father in its own way, and that things were hard for him too, not just for Eren. The man probably hadn't disappeared on him over and over again on purpose; that didn't change the fact that Eren oftentimes felt incredibly alone even when he was with his father; and that was an awfully depressing thought.

But he'd never felt quite as alone before as he did when he registered the intense flash of anger that appeared in Grisha's eyes as he registered the accusation, and the sudden movement as a much larger hand than Eren's own quickly came up to meet his cheek with a loud sound that rang through the room.

His father didn't usually get violent, it had only happened a few times so far, and Eren did a great job at pushing it into the last corner of his mind usually. His father wasn't abusive, he wouldn't think of him like that. The alpha simply didn't like it when Eren spoke up. And usually, he didn't. 

That made it worse whenever something did happen though. 

Green eyes remained tightly closed, tbe tanned face turned away from the man and a hand coming up to touch the spot underneath his eye where he'd just been slapped. Eren tried to breathe calmly and catch himself, but it wasn't as easy as he'd wished it would be; maybe it was the adrenaline in his blood. 

It hadn't even hurt that much, but the shock from the sudden movement alone was enough to make the brunette's eyes water against his will. 

"Would you show a little bit of gratitude for once? I'm risking my fucking job for your sake so you can live your stupid dream of becoming an actor, and all you're thanking me with is complaints because that's still not enough for you." 

There was a moment of silence before the omega finally found it in himself to answer, his voice empty as he told the man what he knew he wanted to hear, "Dad, I'm.. I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I didn't mean to say that."

The words were hard to say, because Eren wasn't sure he truly believed in them himself; he wasn't sure he could really mean it when his face was still hurting and he felt like running far, far away from his father. 

A smell suddenly hit Eren; powerful and awfully distracting unlike any other. Before Eren's mind could catch up though, he heard the voice that had been driving him crazy for days now.

"No, that's bullshit. He's not fucking sorry because he has no reason to be. You fucking punch your own son in the face and expect him to apologise to you? What kind of messed up parenting is that?" 

That voice had Eren's attention in an instant, finally daring him to drag his eyes away from the floor and in the direction of the door, finding the alpha right away and locking eyes with him. Levi stood there next to the wall, wearing the most serious expression Eren had ever seen on his face, and that had to mean something. Those grey eyes especially, were hypnotising in their expressiveness, in their obvious anger and will to fight, to protect. 

Levi looked and sounded like he was honestly not in the mood for joking around. 

Neither was Eren's father though, apparently. In mere seconds, the room had filled with the smell of aggressive alphas, and Eren found it hard to even breath in there. 

"And just who do you think you are to talk for my son like that? And to me?" 

The brunette could see all sorts of emotions displayed on the alpha's face for once; it ranged from disgust towards his father to utter disbelief. 

When had Levi even entered the room? Eren wasn't sure at all, but apparently it had been early enough for Levi to see his father lose his temper. 

Wasn't this chaos ever going to end? 

"Levi.." Eren said quietly, but he wasn't so sure the other had even heard him at all. 

"What a fucking ironic thing for you to say. For your information, I'm not talking for him. I'm using my common sense and all that I'm gathering from the situation I've witnessed is that you're an asshole who punches someone less than half their age because of a verbal disagreement. Which is pretty damn pathetic if you ask me." 

Apparently, the doctor hadn't expected an explanation of that sort, because for a few seconds, he just remained silent and let his eyes glare holes into Levi who in turn made a conscious effort to display just how little that affected him. 

For maybe the hundredth time in just a a few days, Eren wasn't sure anymore what was even going on with his life. For days now, everything had been strange, and things had been different on so many levels.

Because of Levi.

Because Levi was the type of person to say things like that to Eren's father who was used to being treated with more than a little bit of respect. Because Eren saw something in Levi that promised safety to him -not just his omega but his very core. 

But then again, this was his father. Whoever won the battle in the end, Eren had a feeling that he'd be the one to lose either way. 

Had alphas always been this troublesome, or was he only now noticing it when he wasn't drugged by those pills?

The difference was honestly scary to him.

He had noticed it before; the way alphas always seemed to busy trying to beat each other at everything. The smallest things became a challenge to them, and backing down was highly frowned upon. 

"Eren, tell your little friend here to go and get lost. We don't need him poking his nose into our family business, and it's bad enough he's even been in here in the first place." 

Grey and green were on each other, and Eren wasn't sure how to interpret what he was seeing in Levi's eyes. 

The brunette finally snapped out of it, dragging his gaze away and towards his father again, in disbelief.

Was he really asking him to do this? 

That was a low move and even Eren, who didn't know much about the role he had to play as an omega, could tell that it wasn't a symbol of a great character or bravery from his alpha father.

His father was using him as a tool to establish dominance in the situation, and Eren was perfectly aware of it. 

Just like Eren was perfectly aware of the fact that his father had a way of making him do what he wanted the boy to do, using manipulation or sheer dominance and force. It was incredibly hard for an omega to disagree with a command from an alpha that was directed at them forcefully. And since his pills weren't effectively suppressing his nature at the moment, Eren felt the words wrap around his throat like a snake waiting to choke him.

He looked towards Levi again, searched for something in his eyes, although he wasn't sure what he was looking for. 

A savior, perhaps? Or just some sign from the other that would tell him what he was supposed to do. 

All he wanted in this very moment was to stay in the raven's strong arms and have him tell Eren that everything was going to be okay soon. That his medication would help him, he'd go back to normal, and not see his father for another few weeks or months. 

Just as he was about to open his mouth and do what his father had told him to, Levi interrupted him. 

"Eren, you don't have to listen to him. You're not just some toy to be ordered around against your will! Speak up for yourself, won't you? Don't let him push you around like that." 

The words weren't harsh or bitter, they almost sounded soft to the omega, reassuring, but they did manage to cause a turmoil inside of him, too. 

It wasn't half as easy as Levi probably thought this was. Eren wanted to stand up for himself of course, but he wasn't willing to face the consequences. 

This was his father; the one person he still had left of his family. 

A man who, in his own way, had tried his best for Eren. 

Although he reminded himself of that detail, it didn't change the fact that Eren wanted nothing more than to agree with Levi, curl up against him, drown his senses in his smell and warmth, and feel protected from everything and anything life might throw his way. 

But that wouldn't happen, would it? 

Eren had to get that wishful thinking out of his head. This probably wasn't half as much about himself as he wanted to believe; it was about winning against another alpha -for both Levi and Grisha. 

Or was it? 

Either way, the brunette knew that what he wanted to do was not an option. 

"Levi, I'm sorry but my father is right. It's probably the best if you leave, we need to talk about some things and I've wasted enough of your time already, so.." 

It was physically hard to say, the words bitter and foreign on Eren's tongue. He hated being forced to take sides just as much as everyone else in the world probably did. 

The omegq couldn't even bear to look into the alpha's grey eyes; Levi's smell in itself was enough to tell him that what he'd just said didn't really come across as casually as he'd tried to make it sound. He'd just angered the raven, clearly. And that brought even more panic into his system, because it was the last thing he wanted. 

Grisha just smirked at the exchange between the two, clearly more than satisfied with the outcome. 

"I'm sorry, I-" the brunette began, trying to fix what little was left to fix, but it was to no avail. 

Levi had already made its way towards the door, slamming it loudly behind himself and disappearing without as much as a goodbye or acknowledgement. 

And the only thing that kept Eren from running after him in a desperate attempt to apologise for being a failure as an omega, were his father's eyes that took in every little detail about the omega; judging and interpreting his panicked looks towards the door. He knew his father could smell the pain on him, and there was nothing Eren could do to hide his emotions completely from the man. 

He felt exposed; in the worst of ways. 

"For once you've done the right thing," his father praised him but he didn't want to even hear those words at all, "but I made a mistake earlier. Those pills?" 

The man places two packages on the desk. 

"You might want to take two on a daily basis instead of one. We can't afford to get discovered. And clearly, you need something strong to keep your hormones in check, apparently." 

Guiltily, Eren fumbled around with his hands. At least the part about his hormones was true; he probably did need something strong. 

Because yet again, he felt like crying more than anything. And quite frankly, this roller coaster of emotions was beginning to take its toll on him. 

He couldn't even beging to imagine how others did that; how omegas could possibly live with their heats and the general vulnerability they oftentimes were forced to experience. 

"Dad? Was there anything else you came here for? Or is that it?" Eren asked, pointing towards the medicine. "Because I'm feeling pretty tired. Thanks to the time of day you chose to visit me." 

"That was all. Well, that and I'll be busy for the next few weeks, perhaps a month or two. My flight leaves in two hours. You'll hear from me, though." 

"Sure, see you then," Eren mumbled and quickly disappeared into his room, leaving his father behind in the living room. He could hear the man's footsteps finally disappear after a minute or two, and he'd never been so glad before that the man was gone. 

This couldn't have gone much worse, could it? 

Eren threw himself into his bed, but without Levi in it, the strong alpha scent only reminded him of the fact that the raven wasn't beside him anymore. Something resembling loneliness made itself known inside Eren again, and he picked up the cell phone on his nightstand, quickly selecting the chat with Levi.

'I didn't mean to make you angry. I wasn't sure what to do, my family is a bit complicated and I didn't want to fight with anyone.' 

Hopefully that would help; maybe Levi could understand his reasons? 

Maybe he hadn't destroyed what little progress they had made yet again? 

But what if he had? He'd basically gone against Levi's command. He'd failed to do the one thing that he knew Levi wanted him to do. He hadn't listened to him. Worse yet, he'd casually kicked him out like it wasn't a metaphorical punch in the face, too. 

After ten minutes of turning from side to side in his bed and compulsively checking his phone, the brunette had enough. His bare feet met the cold floor as he walked into the living room with determined steps, grabbing the small package full of blue pills. 

He let two of them drop into his palm, hoping that they would calm down his anxiety somewhat and finally wake him up from this nightmare full of emotions that were way too intense for him to handle. 

Now all he could do was wait and hope that by tomorrow, he'd be feeling well enough to go back to school and appear like his usual, alpha-like self. And of course, that he'd hear from the alpha soon; preferably within the next few minutes. 

Those thoughts still in his mind, the brunette dragged himself back into his bed, letting his head sink into the pillow that smelled so much like Levi, and staring at the ceiling as his hand absenmindedly touched to red spot on his cheek yet again. 

He remembered the look on Levi's face and his quiet rage, and couldn't stop a frown from appearing on his face. 

Life really hadn't been too kind to him lately, had it? 

The omega couldn't do anything but hope that at school when they'd start working on their project together, things would be easier between him and the alpha.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are getting a bit less dramatic between the two, but the awkwardness remains! 
> 
> thanks so much once again to everyone who reads this story, you're amazing (: 
> 
> Enjoy, hopefully.

Levi's fists were clenched angrily, his eyes narrowed as he walked through the streets at a fast pace, unsure where he was even headed. All he knew was that he needed to move. He needed to keep going and not stop until he felt like his body had become tired enough to focus on anything but what had just happened. And the amount of rage it had provoked in him. 

As things stood, his mind was still preoccupied with the events of the early morning hours; of how Eren had backed down so easily and kicked him out simply because it was his father's wish. 

Yes, it was true that the man was Eren's father and that meant that maybe it was too much to ask for when Levi had wanted Eren to side with him instead if the older alpha. Hell, that definitely was way too much to ask for. Still, a part of him had almost expected it, -hoped for it- and that in itself was terrifying. 

He hadn't even been consciously aware of how important this small thing really was to him, apparently. But somewhere deep down, it seemed to have hit a nerve. Everything that had happened, had. 

Levi hadn't been able to hold himself back from stepping inside the room, not after he'd smelled how distressed Eren was, even through the closed door.

It had happened so naturally that thinking about it now only seemed to hurt the alpha's head. He'd done what his inner alpha had asked him to, without the needed resistance that he usually found easy to muster in himself. 

Because maybe somehow, Levi had become soft. It was like he'd been unnaturally willing to give Eren a chance to come close to him, despite his past experiences. From the beginning, he hadn't kept as much distance as he probably should have. And maybe he'd hoped, somewhere inside, that Eren might turn out to be different, despite his nature. After all, the boy had done what was almost impossible, he'd been the reason Levi had let his alpha take control; the reason he was hardly able to snap out of his anger and frustration now.

He'd caused something inside of the raven to appear, and now it was growing rapidly. 

A weird feeling, a feeling Levi was definitely not used to. 

But Levi refused to think of that as affection or anything of that sort. 

What really made him angry was the fact that some part of him undeniably still thought that Eren might be... special, somehow. No matter how creepy that sounded even to Levi himself. It was like those bright eyes had hypnotised him somehow. 

Those thoughts were definitely toxic however; they came with the cost his self control and the alpha really didn't quite appreciate it. Over the course of the last two years, the raven had mastered the art of keeping himself in check, and staying far enough away from people that might get their hopes up with him. He didn't get anyone's hopes up anymore, if anything he'd made it into a habit to push people as far away as possible. 

Levi wasn't looking for someone, and definitely not for an omega. 

He couldn't ignore the memory of how Eren's father had slapped the omega, though. It brought back memories that he didn't particularly enjoy indulging in. 

The alpha made an annoyed noise, and proceeded to jog along the street, past an empty elementary school, crossing the street without a glance to either side and heading straight forward. He was fast; the scenery flew by and the wind hit him in the face like it was telling him to slow down in some language the alpha didn't care to comprehend. 

Running was another habit of his, and right now keeping himself busy like that was the only thing in the world that made him feel a little more sane and less ready to head right back to the apartment, to Eren. 

He needed to prevent this at all costs; Eren was better off with Levi gone. In fact, the best thing for the brunette would probably be to forget about him altogether and continue pretending to be an alpha for the sake of his career. 

But how in the world was that supposed to work? So far, Eren hadn't seemed all that willing to stay away from Levi. We're those pills really going to change that? 

And why in the world did that thought scare Levi in such a strange way? 

..

Eren had spent the rest of Sunday in bed, falling asleep every few hours only to wake up and turn around in the sheets until he found a comfortable position yet again. Thanks to his lack of sleep, and maybe everything that had happened in the morning, the tiredness didn't seem to leave his bones though. Whenever he was awake, the brunette would instantly search for his phone, checking to see whether he had any messages or not; only to switch between worry and anger once he looked at the screen. 

None. 

Yet again. 

Levi still hadn't replied to him, and it had been more than 15 hours by now. Although Eren could definitely tell that the pills were doing something, they hadn't quite managed to rid him of the worry that he'd finally done it. That Levi didn't want anything to do with him anymore. That he had really, really messed up this time.

He'd tried over and over again to calm himself down and talk himself out of that thought, in order to prevent a repeat of what had happened yesterday, but the fact remained that all he wanted to do was talk to the alpha. God, how was it possible to already miss his voice? 

Or maybe not so much missing it. It was almost like he was afraid he might forget it if he didn't hear it soon. 

Which was even weirder, honestly. 

Because that definitely wasn't just his omega talking. 

Maybe it hadn't just been his omega who was worried about pushing Levi away either? Eren had been so sure that it was a chemical thing; then why weren't his thoughts clearing up as his hormones were suppressed once again? 

Green eyes stared at the ceiling in the mostly dark room, and the brunette could hear some asshole (most likely Jean, though it was hard to be sure with how many people lived in those buildings) doing God knows what and making way too much noise for 11 PM on a Sunday. 

If his bed wasn't as comfortable, Eren would definitely head out there and give whoever it was a damn lecture. 

But there honestly wasn't a chance in hell that he'd leave his cocoon of blankets anytime soon. So, he opted for glaring at the ceiling and mentally picturing yelling at people. 

Anger did funny things to him. 

Eren sighed loudly and rolled onto his stomach, covering his head with a pillow and screaming into his mattress, trying to be as silent about it as possible, which wasn't all that silent either considering the time. 

'Fuck Levi,' he thought to himself bitterly, pushing his phone down from the bed and on the floor with a violent noise. 

So what if the alpha didn't even find the time to answer his message? 

It's not like Eren had asked for all this chaos either, and he actually had apologised. Was it really too much to ask for, wanting a reply? 

Small hands pulled the pillow off his head and the boy took a deep breath before sitting up and eventually, padding out of the room. He went to the bathroom and let cold water from the sink collect in his hands so he could pour it over his face like a waterfall. 

It didn't wash the dark circles underneath his eyes away though. Neither did the water do anything to fight the pale tone that his skin had changed into, especially visible in the yellow, artificial light. The stress of the last few days was visible on his face, like an open book he was carrying around for everyone to read as they pleased. 

He might as well be screaming at the top of his lungs, 'I'm stressed, don't talk to me.' That's how obviously drained he looked. 

The boy looked closely at himself; as if searching for something in his own face. When he couldn't seem to find it, he pressed a towel against his skin to dry his face and mechanically, walked over to the desk where the pills were still lying where he'd left them earlier. 

Maybe he needed another one; maybe that would help him keep himself together, and a whole lot further away from Levi. Mentally, too. 

He swallowed the blue pill easily, his throat definitely used to it after years of using those. It even worked without water. 

He'd take another one or maybe two tomorrow morning; depending on how he felt by then. But there was no way he was going to risk a repetition of Friday. 

Although he really wasn't so sure he was tired anymore, the brunette threw himself back into the bed, groaning in frustration when, for some reason, his nose was still able the pick up on the scent of the raven who had been beside him earlier. 

And in the two hours it took for him to fall asleep again, he couldn't help but let himself sink into that smell, although he somehow wished he didn't. Because that most definitely did have an effect on his dreams in quite a few ways. 

.. 

Although the weather forecast had promised sunshine along with maybe a few clouds in the sky, reality looked different. Levi could tell; his car had decided to give up on him now of all times, and so he found himself instead jogging all the way to school without so much as an umbrella to keep himself dry. 

Drops of water were clinging to his lashes and the locks of his undercut reached a bit further down than normally, his hair wet and glued to his face because the wind kept pushing his hood back and off his head. 

The raven honestly hoped his backpack and all the books inside wouldn't be suffering too much damage from the water. But he was almost there now, so he'd be able to judge the level of destruction soon. Just another corner, and -

It was like Levi had run right into a wall; the moment he looked around the corner and spotted two people who were definitely really close to each other. At first, Levi thought they were making out -two guys, just minutes before school starts. Nothing too unusual. But two alphas? 

Levi came a bit closer to the pair, a weird feeling growing inside him, eyes drifting in the direction of the two again. 

That, right there. 

Levi recognised that voice before he was able to recognise the face of Eren.

"Jean, I swear I will kick your ugly teeth out if you don't let me go RIGHT NOW!" 

Damn. Levi had expected a lot of things, but to run into Eren having a fight with some alpha first thing in the morning? Or to hear the small, delicate looking figure lash out like that, his voice filled with anger and the promise of violence?

He wasn't so sure, maybe he should have expected something like that. 

However, his body definitely hadn't. In fact, all that his body had registered so far was that there was Eren - the omega, his project partner. The boy who had been a desperate mess all weekend long. The one with those intense eyes, who'd been on Levi's mind a bit too often lately. And way too fucking close to the brunette, there was another alpha currently holding him above the ground with a tight grip on his shirt, pressing the smaller boy against the brick wall. He was grinning triumphantly at Eren. 

To anyone else, this was a normal sight probably. Two alphas being stupid and fighting over whatever. 

To Levi, this looked different though. Because in that moment, despite the lack of a scent coming from Eren, the alpha was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that Eren really wasn't an alpha like the other boy was, but an omega. Eren wasn't exactly made to have fights with alphas, if only because of his statue. Not like Levi doubted that Eren could kick someone's ass.

'But he shouldn't fucking need to do that himself,' a less logical side of Levi supplied. And in that moment, Levi could only focus on that burning sensation caused by the fact that another alpha was, yet again, trying to push the boy around. 

"Not before you fucking say it, Jäger!"

"Fuck you, I'm not saying that, that's bullshit!"

It was only when the voices were getting louder and louder that Levi realised he was still walking towards the two, his steps certain and he could tell that he smelled ready to join the fight if he needed to. 

Somehow, he almost felt like he wanted to. 

Which in itself was pretty damn unusual for the alpha; he wasn't one for senseless fights normally.

But apparently, it was a different matter when Eren was involved. Levi could swear he felt his blood running through his veins, that's how aware he was of his surroundings at the moment.

He ignored that this wasn't like him, really. At all. 

But he failed to ignore Eren's gaze that was full of rage, directed at the other alpha. Levi had seen him the last time when the actors had come into the photographer's classroom. He definitely wasn't afraid of Jean. 

Two heads turned in the raven's direction at the same time.

Eren's eyes had somewhat of a sparkle in them upon realising that this was Levi. The other however just stared at the alpha with annoyance evident on his face.

"Okay horseface. Let him down, and fast," Levi requested casually, pointing at Eren who was still kicking furiously in the alpha's hold. 

"This is none of your damn business. And don't call me that again." 

Levi was fast. In a second or so, he had put the other on the ground with just one quick movement, Eren finally standing on his own two feet again and the alpha glaring daggers at Levi from below them. Luckily, he was able to hold himself back from actually hurting the other; this could get out of hand pretty quickly, because Levi was seriously not that amused. A guy like him wasn't supposed to come near Eren, and definitely not threaten him. 

"Looks like it is my business after all, horseface. Now, apologise." 

Eren was giving Levi the weirdest look, as if he had no clue at all what was even going on. 

"I'm not going to apologise. That bastard started it, again."

.. 

Eren had, in fact, started the fight. And he honestly lacked a good reason, too. After the emotionally draining weekend and with maybe a bit much of a hormonal change happening in his body, he had assumed that he had an excuse to pick a fight with Jean though. 

As if he even needed one. 

No; those tiny battles between them were definitely a part of his daily routine, but no one had come to Eren's rescue like that ever before. That was definitely new. And the brunette hadn't settled yet on whether he liked it or not. He knew that he did like seeing Jean with his ass in the mud, that much was clear. Also, Eren did enjoy not being pushed around by Jean.

And since Levi had achieved that, Eren couldn't help but let out a silent laughter upon seeing Jean's expression. In the following seconds however, Eren somehow became aware of what had just happened. 

Levi had actually stepped in and went out of his way to help Eren out. And with the scent the raven was giving off, Eren was surprised that Jean had even talked back to him at all. Levi's smell was still that intense, overwhelming aroma that made Eren's knees feel weak. Thanks to his pills however, he wasn't completely losing his mind yet, but the effect was still there. Eren was attracted to that scent like a moth to a lamp. 

All of his attention was on Levi, and he couldn't change that if he tried. 

Although be really shouldn't be affected like this. 

The younger of the two caught himself staring at the raven, taking in all the details his face had to offer; including his wet hair, and the excitement visible in his eyes. Excitement? 

Perhaps, although Eren might be misinterpreting that. 

Eren licked his lips, his eyes stopping on Levi's. He couldn't tear his gaze away immediately, but when he did he noticed that Levi was now watching him, too. 

For a moment, he almost forgot all about Jean who was still down there, complaining loudly as he stood up again, rubbing his ass. All the while, the eye contact between Levi and Eren remained unbroken, and the omega felt like he should maybe say something. But he remained quiet, which wasn't really like him, and their eyes were still locked. 

Until Eren backed down, green nervously traveling in a different direction. He took a breath in, calming himself down. 

Distraction. He definitely needed some sort of distraction. 

Eren's thoughts were still focused on Levi's lips, and he needed something else to fix his attention on. 

That was when Eren saw the brown mud stains on the Jean's ass, and he couldn't hold himself back even if he tried. That was amazing distraction from Levi's general attractiveness. 

"Oh my God, you look like you just shit your pants, Jean!" he expressed between bits of laughter, becoming more hysterical as Jean's eyes darkened once he realised the extent of the damage done to his pants.

Levi stared at Eren as the boy laughed freely. 

"Fuck you Jäger," Jean barked at him. 

"You wish," Eren replied, winking at the alpha before more laughter left his lips. 

 

Before Jean could even find an answer to that, Levi had already grabbed Eren's arm though, beginning to pull him away. And no matter how embarrassing it might be, the brunette worried for a second there that a squeal might leave his lips at the sudden contact. Luckily, he was able to hold it back. "Eren, come on. We need to talk about the project," Levi said and Eren stared at him like he was a bit dumb, his gaze traveling to Levi's hand which was on his shoulder, guiding him. "Right now," the alpha pushed, and began leading the boy away from Jean with quick steps.

"What about my pants?" came a cry from behind them.

"Either you keep those on or go get changed. That's really the two options you have," Levi explained to Jean, his glare stone cold while the two were starting to walk in the direction of the entrance, leaving the other alpha behind. Eren laughed again at the interaction, showing Jean his middle finger and finding it incredible that Levi could say things like this with a completely blank face. While Levi always seemed able to pull that act of indifference off, it was more comical when you could tell that he truly didn't like someone. 

Levi wouldn't even need to open his mouth to insult someone, probably. 

"Fuck the both of you!" 

This time however, it was Levi who turned around, "no thanks, asshole." 

And Eren started laughing, because this was all a bit too surreal almost. How casually Levi had done that -saved Eren's ass and acted like it wasn't even a big deal. The fact that they were now walking to school together. 

All of that after Eren had been so afraid yesterday. He'd honestly thought Levi was deliberately ignoring him. 

Well, so apparently he wasn't. 

That simple thing should maybe not be enough to make such a happy mess out of the omega, but he didn't feel like he had much of a choice in the matter. 

His current excitement was definitely enough to make the brunette forget all about his earlier anger, which had definitely been partially caused by the raven. 

But now, that was just gone. Poof. Away.  
No more anger, just this weird giddiness in his body. 

It was only when Levi turned to look at Eren with a gaze that practically screamed 'what in the world is wrong with you?' that his laughter began to fade away slowly, his lips still forming an enthusiastic smile on his face. In his defense though, seeing Jean in the dirt was probably one of the best ways to get Eren's mood up in any given moment.

Because although Eren was the one most likely to start a fight, it wasn't like that automatically meant that he won all the time. In fact, he was definitely in denial about the fact that more often than not, he'd been the one left on the ground, or with a broken nose. A black eye. Things didn't always end up that badly though. More often than not, all the loser had to endure was some humiliation and that was it. 

"So? What is it about the project that couldn't wait until class starts?" Eren asked, unsure what to even say about the incident that had just happened, where to start. Should he thank the other? 

Or would that be the same as admitting that he'd pretty much been in need of help? 

Levi did that thing again where he just stared at Eren like a hawk, his gaze heavy as he fixed it on Eren entirely.

And Eren's nerves did their thing in turn, making him feel a bit nauseaous... but in a good way? If that combination was even possible. 

"What?" 

Now, it was the brunette's turn to be confused. 

"What 'what'?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" Levi rephrased his question, but it still didn't seem to make any more sense to the omega. In fact, he was so busy mentally reviewing the last few sentences that they had exchanged that Eren didn't answer at all for another few seconds. 

"You said two minutes ago that we need to talk about our project, and then proceeded to drag me here. So?" 

A look crossed Levi's face for a split second, but it was hard to say just what it meant. Some people were easy to read; their expressions intense 

Levi stayed silent. 

And now, Eren was the one staring at him weirdly. 

..

Eren had fucking winked at that asshole. 

Logically speaking, Levi was well aware that it hadn't been anything serious. 

Just a humorous gesture. Sarcasm...

Then why exactly did the alpha feel the need to stab the horseface's damn eyes out? He hadn't been particularly happy to find Eren involved in a fight with another alpha in the first place, but the moment he'd watched the exchange between them, he had snapped. Internally. 

He'd spat out some bullshit excuse about needing to talk about their project, and had dragged Eren far away from the other alpha, and out of his sight. 

And now, of course his own stupidity came back to bite him in the ass. 

At least that's what it felt like, standing there like an idiot while Eren's ridiculously colorful eyes were staring holes into Levi, who was still trying to make sense of his own actions. 

And in that moment, a horrible thought was making a mess of Levi's brain, making it even harder to find any words. 

From what Levi had experienced, Eren wasn't exactly shy with alphas. Quite the opposite, really. The memories of how Eren had been so damn close to him were a great reminder of that. 

And now Levi couldn't help but wonder whether maybe, Eren was like that with others, too. 

That thought definitely shouldn't have felt like such a stab right in his chest, but the pain went ignored as the raven told himself over and over again that it didn't even matter. 

It didn't matter that Levi might not be the only one who'd ever seen Eren in a less than innocent state. 

That's what he failed to convince himself of. 

Maybe it was just his brain that was a bit useless when it came to trying to figure out the nature of their relationship. Less than friendship. They barely knew each other. 

This wasn't supposed to be such a big deal, to Levi of all people in the world. Eren was free to do whatever he wanted, because that had absolutely nothing to do with Levi. 

If Eren wanted to wink at another alpha, or jump into bed with them, then he could. 

Levi took a few deep breaths, trying to find his way back to the here and now. 

"I lied, there's nothing to talk about," he admitted thoughtlessly. And just when he thought that the inevitable 'why' was going to be his answer, Eren surprised him. Yet again. 

A humming sound left Eren's lips, and he started walking again, with Levi following him like a shadow. 

"Fine then, so what do you want to talk about, then?" 

Another somewhat uncomfortable sort of silence washed over them. Levi was, in that moment, incredibly aware of his less than ideal conversation skills, and it was like his brain was making this harder for him on purpose. 

He wasn't sure what to say, and that was pretty much a weird feeling simply because most of the time, Levi didn't care what he ended up saying. But with Eren, there was this weird need not to make yet another mistake. 

He couldn't begin to imagine what Eren must be thinking. 

He needed to find words, and quick. 

"You. I mean, how are you? Are those pills.. Are they working properly?" 

Yet another thought that had been plaguing Levi's mind. What if suddenly, at a school full of alphas, Eren's suppressants would fail him again? 

What if those guys wouldn't see any real reason to hold themselves back? 

He couldn't stand even thinking about that scenario. 

Eren blinked a few times, apparently a bit surprised himself. He looked a bit tired and his hair was a mess, and Levi watched as the omega pushed a few locks out of his eyes and underneath his hood. 

"I suppose I'm fine. I mean, so far the pills have been working and I mean, I'm not acting like.. that.. anymore so, I guess I'm feeling better." 

Although Levi could tell that it wasn't supposed to be one, that sounded a whole lot like a question rather than a statement to him. 

"Are you sure?" he asked, and tried to make it sound casual. 

Eren nodded, and it was only now that Levi noticed the red on the boy's cheeks and the way his hands kept fumbling around with his jacket. Grey eyes remained focused on that for a second, before Levi forced himself to focus on the stairs. The last thing he would need now was to make himself look like an even bigger idiot and fall down a flight of stairs. 

Apparently, Eren was a bigger idiot than Levi though, because wherever his attention was, it was definitely not on his feet. 

What happened then probably didn't look spectacular to any bystander whatsoever. 

But Levi's heart still definitely stopped for a second, no matter how stupid that sounded.

Eren had stumbled and like he'd done it on purpose almost, fallen right into Levi who, out of reflex, had wrapped his arms around the brunette, holding him up. 

That moment seemed to last a while somehow, and no detail was lost on the raven. 

He heard the sharp intake of breath that Eren made, noticed the way his muscles stiffened, felt Eren's warmth through their clothes when he landed in the alpha's arms like there was some sort of magnetic pull. All the while, the raven's heart was beating wildly in his chest, like a caged, hungry animal. He internally cursed at those pills for changing Eren's scent like this; it smelled wrong. 

Now that Levi was aware of Eren's true nature, he had associated that certain smell with Eren. His real smell.

Not this artificial kind of scent that the suppressants produced. 

Underneath a layer of that, however, Levi felt like he was still able to pick up on the real scent that was undeniably Eren. Although it wasn't nearly as strong and breathtaking like this. 

Somehow, it was still enough for Levi to feel out of breath, ironically. 

Perhaps Levi was projecting, but once Eren was in the safety of his arms, it was almost like the brunette internally had a debate over whether to just stay there or not. It couldn't just be Levi's distorted sense of time because Eren had literally not moved for maybe 20 seconds now, apparently having no intention of putting some sort of distance between them in the slightest.

Not that Levi really wanted that much distance between them at all. Or did he? 

Wasn't he supposed to?

Then, why did Eren fit against his chest so perfectly? 

Either way, the awkwardness was growing rapidly, and neither of the two seemed to be in any state to move a muscle, so Levi had to do something before anyone looked at them and got the wrong idea. 

"Eren?" 

That did something. Whatever trance the boy had been in seemed to fall apart quickly, like it was a magic trick more or less. Like all Levi had to do was snap his fingers, and Eren would be back on this planet mentally.

He enjoyed the idea more than he would have previously thought possible, being able to get the brunette's attention. 

Eren's voice was breathless, his tone uneven and he avoided Levi's eyes as he took a step away from him. "Wow. You kind of.. saved my ass twice in one day." There was certainly embarrassment in his voice, too. He cleared his throat and started walking again, jumping up the stairs like a kid.

"Is that like some kind of superpower? Wait, you're not a vampire, are you? You kind of look like one."

Honestly, Eren could be so damn weird. Had he really just asked that? 

"You'd be surprised to hear that quite a few people have told me that," Levi answered in a light tone, "but I guess it's the pale skin or something. Sorry to disappoint you though, but I don't think I have any particular superpower." 

"You still saved me," Eren insisted. 

"Save is a bit of a strong word, isn't it? It's not like I did much of anything. I just happened to walk behind you. Not that impressive." 

Levi held the door open for them, and inside the school, there was this ever present mixture of voices; people talking to each other, joking around, shouting. It was weird walking into the school like this with Eren, a good kind of weird. And since Levi's first class in the morning just happened to be photography, they were both headed in the same direction anyway. 

Considering that it was a Monday morning, it was definitely unusual for Levi to walk into school like this - still not totally enthusiastic, but not in the worst mood either. 

On Mondays, he was always in the worst mood known to mankind, no exceptions. Usually. Which made this kind of a big deal for him. 

He almost wished he would be in a worse mood, just for the sake of familiarity. 

"Well, I could have - I don't know -, cracked my skull on the asphalt or something. So I guess you're still the hero of this story, just the more modest kind of hero." Eren said and chuckled, and the hint of a smile appeared on Levi's face when he did that. 

..

Oh, how Eren wished he had cracked his skull on the pavement. Then, maybe, he'd have somewhat of an excuse for all the bullshit that was leaving his lips. 

Nervousness did that to him, it made him open his mouth and talk and talk. But the things that left his lips when he was nervous were oftentimes less than clever. So far, he'd called Levi both a vampire and a hero and Eren was pretty certain that if any therapist ever saw Eren in this nervous state, then he'd be admitted to some sort of facility in a heartbeat. 

The more he tried not to embarrass himself, the harder he failed, and when he somehow started chuckling like he hadn't ever heard himself chuckle before, it felt like the final straw. Like he'd yet again made a complete fool out of himself. Why did he always have to be so obvious about everything? So far, Levi had already seen the boy's inner omega as it took control over Eren's actions, and now that he didn't have that excuse anymore, he felt like he was digging himself a deeper and deeper hole. 

Nothing was normal around Levi. Absolutely nothing. Eren honestly doubted that any sort of medicine in the world could possibly change that sentiment. 

Although he couldn't help but wonder; did Levi's inner alpha still see him as the omega he really was? Even when he didn't smell like that or throw himself at him? 

"Well, you're definitely the fool, then." 

Eren mentally agreed, thinking about how he was much more of a fool that Levi probably knew. 

"You wanna know a secret?" Eren asked, and he could swear that Levi was at least a tiny bit interested. His eyes gave him away. 

Although he didn't say it out loud, of course. 

"Well, the secret is that as an actor, you're not too afraid of playing the part of the fool, ideally. If I took every single stupid thing I do too seriously, then my mind would be an even bigger mess," he said, although it was only half true. Eren was still trying to get better at accepting the mistakes he made; the fact that he didn't need to be perfect all the time. Especially at a younger age, all of this frustration with himself had oftentimes resulted in anger. 

But he'd become better at controlling it. 

"That actually does make sense somehow," Levi agreed, his hand brushing against Eren's arm accidentally as they entered the class room. 

"Now that I've shared my actor wisdom with you, are you going to give me some insight into photography, too?" Eren asked, and he wasn't really used to the playful tone his own voice had taken on. 

Apparently, Levi was a bit shocked to hear it, too. 

Or maybe he really was the fool out of the two of them. 

Because just as Eren was looking over at him with a bright smile still on his lips, the raven somehow managed to stare Eren dead in the eye as he walked face first into the door, the noise making everyone inside the room turn to look at the two, or Levi more specifically. 

And yet again, Eren wasn't able to hold his laughter back. He attempted to keep himself quiet, he really did. But Levi honestly didn't look hurt, he just looked incredibly upset, staring the door down as though it had wronged him on purpose. 

He looked so mad. 

And Eren found it an incredibly funny thing to look at. 

"Shut up," Levi muttered darkly, although Eren hadn't even said a word yet, clearly not enjoying the fact that everyone - including Eren - had basically just seen that. 

Somehow, Eren couldn't help smiling though, because all that he could really think about was that the two of them really both were idiots in some ways. 

And that little fact made the brunette stupidly happy, although if someone were to ask him why, he probably wouldn't have an answer to it.


End file.
